The Power Within: The 3rd Hunger Games
by betttyy
Summary: With 24 new tributes in the arena, and the districts finally getting used to the Hunger games, this is going to be... Sweet. SYOT CLOSED
1. Prologue

_"If this is to end in fire_

 _Then we should all burn together_

 _Watch the flames climb high into the night."_

* * *

 _"_ Well, how has life changed for you since winning the Hunger games Tyson Wayford?" Head game maker Estelle Geofferson's voice booms through the TV.

"Life is great! I did what I had to do in there to make my district proud. Life will never be the same. People know who I am now and they actually care what I'm up too. It's the best feeling knowing that I made people proud." He beams from ear to ear as he says this.

"And now, let us re live some of the most eye popping moments from our second annual Hunger Games featuring victor Tyson Wayford." Her voice is squeaky.

Short video clips flash quickly across the screen of Tyson and many other tributes, shooting, stabbing, slicing and choking each other. This goes on for a few minutes before they show the boy from district two sneak up behind a small district 11 girl and plunge a knife deep into her chest. There is a loud boom as she falls to her knees and Tyson lets out a long, loud victory screech just as the TV flashes off.

"I guess I just don't understand." Kadence was sat cross legged on the floor next to her brother in front of their grandfathers rocking chair.

"It's a lot to take in sweet pea, things weren't always this way, it's going to take some getting used to for everyone."

Papa looks out at his beloved grand-children. Their bright blue eyes and blonde hair contrast against their fair skin, making them look that much more innocent and pure.

"I think it's awesome! Tyson is so cool and he is from our district! I want to be just like him papa." Colby's jaw is still wide open as he stares at the black screen.

"Why are all those kids trying to hurt each other on TV though papa? Don't they know that it is a lot easier to love each other?" Kadence's puppy dog eyes welled with tears as she tried to understand this foreign concept.

"Stop being such a baby Kade. I don't know what the heck their fighting over but it's awesome." Colby eagerly replied.

Papa rocked back and forth slowly, contemplating the best way to explain this to his naïve and precious grand daughter.

"Come here." Papa motioned for his grandchildren to move closer to him.

"The world we live in now is nothing like the way the world used to be. I'll tell you what, when I was growing up America was great."

"What is America papa?" Kadence's bright blue eyes lit up as she asked this. She twirled her blonde hair in her fingers eagerly waiting for her papa to answer her.

"America was what Panem was called before all this started. America was a place where people went to flourish and a place where every single person had their best shot at being the best they could be. Freedom. To do and be and live how ever you wanted." Papas eyes fill with sadness as his voice trails off.

Colby wrinkled his nose and began to say something but Kadence cut him off jaw dropped and wide eyed.

"Let him finish. Well what happened then papa. That sounds amazing."

"Listen here little ones. With great power and freedom comes great corruption. You never can please everyone. The citizens and the government engaged in a great war. The Government won and now they will do whatever they have to do to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

Papa spent quite some time explaining the hunger games and the districts to Kadence and Colby.

"Am I ever going to get reaped Papa?" Kadence asked with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I just can't say. There is always a chance that either one of you two could participate in the games. I can't lie to you."

"Sweet!" Colby says.

Papa pulls Kadence into his lap, turns the TV back on to see what is going on with the 3rd annual Hunger Games and slowly beings rocking her.

Estelle Geofferson is speaking to a very pretty girl with jet black hair, bright blue eyes and a smile that looks almost plastered to her face. _Victor of the 1st annual Hunger games: Dahlia Franklin: District 11 to be announcing the third annual Hunger Games!_ scrolls across the bottom of the screen.

Papas eyes glazed over as he thought back to when Dahlia had won the games. No one thought that this shy and simple girl from district 11 had even the slightest chance of being a victor. Certainly someone who cared for others so much couldn't possibly come out on top. Papa thought back to the moment when he watched the Bright and hopeful look in her eye as she pushed her foot down on the throat of the district 4 boy and the tears of joy that fell from her cheeks in all the interviews that followed. He looked down at his now sleeping grand daughter Kadence, in hopes that he would never have to see those expressions on her face. In hopes that she could stay in her district 2 bubble safely forever. He turned off the TV anxiously awaiting the announcement of the Third games that was to inevitably come the following day.

* * *

 **Well. Here we go. This is going to be my first ever SYOT and I'm pretty pumped. I'm really excited to try this out!**

 **As it is my first one don't expect anything extravagant haha but I would still love for y'all to submit! :)**

 **I'm going to do my very best to make this a good story.**

 **Side note: Shout out to Caleb for helping me get started. You da bomb.**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna!**


	2. Prologue part 2

" _Wasn't it easier in your lunch box days_

 _Always a bigger bed to crawl into._

 _Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything_

 _and every one believed in you."_

* * *

 **District 2:**

 **Kadence and Colby Marquet**

* * *

I am going to be just like Tyson Wayford when I am big!" Colby jumps off the table in the lunch room at school waving a paper towel roll like a sword.

The girl sitting across the table stares at him with a blank expression on her face before turning to to Kadence.

"He is crazy. My daddy says that The hunger games is the best thing since sliced bread." the little girl takes a not so little bite out of her sandwich.

"Sliced bread?" Kadence crinkles her nose.

"Papa says he doesn't like the games but my momma told me that he helped plan the first one. Maybe that's why his eyes get so sad when he talks about it." Kadence unfurrows her eyebrows, shrugs and eats the last little bit of her chips just as a paper towel roll hits her in the back of the head.

"Colby, you better run!" she giggles as she gets up and chases him around the terrace where lunch time is held.

"I am going to be the best victor that ever lived." Colby swings his make believe sword in all directions creating a whipping sound.

"I am going to be a peace keeper just like mommy and daddy! Papa says that they are to be feared because they are the head peace keepers. I don't want people to be afraid of me though." A sullen look spreads across her face as she smooths out her skirt and heads back to her lunch table.

"Did you say that your mom and dad were the head peace keepers?" asks the TA who has been supervising as he calls it to make himself feel better about eavesdropping on children.

"Yeah. We don't really see them much." Colby says dropping the roll and shoving a handful of grapes into his mouth.

"But our papa takes real good care of us. He's my best buddy." Kadence's face lights up at the mention of her grand father.

"Right.. your papa. You said that your mother told you that he helped plan the first games didn't you little lady?" The TA asks suspiciously.

"Yeah, momma said that he was a Game maker for the first whatever it's called. But when I ask him about it he won't tell me. He just gets a real sad look on his face and his eyes change into something real sad." Kadence looks concerned as she says this.

The teachers assistant nods, taking this all in.

The bell rings signifying that lunch time is over and all the children scramble back to class.

The school day drags by for Kadence but Colbys mind is filled with ways that he can start training himself for the games.

When it is finally time to go home the kids can barely sit still. The walk home seems like it takes forever.

"There's my girl!" papa kneels down with open arms willing Kadence to run to him.

"Papa! I missed you today." She wraps her arms around his neck.

"What did you munchkins learn today?"

"Well, apparently bread comes in slices." Kadence giggles.

"I learned that the best way to take some one out early in the games is to stab em' right in the chest!"

Papas eyes change and he leads the kids into the house quickly.

* * *

 _"You may think you see who I really am_

 _but you'll never know me_

 _every day_

 _It's as if I play a part."_

* * *

 **Dahlia Franklin, 16**

 **District 11**

 **Victor of the 1st annual hunger games.**

* * *

Dahlia is so sick of all the interviews. She doesn't want to do them. Everyone is all in a fuss over the third annual games coming to a start. Enough innocent people have been slaughtered for the entertainment of power hungry officials.

She wears a fake smile plastered to her face in hopes of keeping up the image of a girl who is proud to have come out on top over 23 other children who meant just as much as she did. The last thing she needs is to have people questioning her.

"Dahlia, it's time for you to get out of bed." her friend hides sheepishly behind the door as she says this obviously afraid she is going to bite her head off. She isn't so far off.

"I'm not going." Dahlia says as she pulls a pillow over her face.

"You have to. The president is expecting you to be an active member of society today and help bring attention to the games. It's just a little while longer and then you can waste away in your bed." Tiegen steps into the room and sits on the edge of the bed.

Dahlia sits up, all the images that she tries so hard to suppress flash in her brain.

Twenty four kids ranging from the ages of 12-18 being thrown into an Arena against their will and told to kill each other. Told that only one of them would be leaving by the end of this. At first, none of them knew what to do. They stood around looking at each other for way longer than was acceptable to the game makers. They were all sitting around a temporary camp that they had set up in the middle of the woods when an arrow shot through the girl from district 1's chest.

"I can't believe I just did that... I'm so sorry." the boy from district 7 stammered.

"What the heck?!" Dahlia asked him completely astounded by the situation that occurred.

"They aren't going to let us go home. That much is clear and I'm sorry but I have to get back to my family. They need me." He raised his bow again and took aim at the group. All 22 of the other tributes scattered quickly and Dahlia wasn't going to be the one to wait around to die. She gripped the knife that was in her pocket and promised herself from that moment on that she would do every thing she had to do to stay alive.

"Are you okay? Tiegen asks jolting her out of the morbid memory.

She wipes the sweat off of her brow and rolls out of bed.

"Just peachy."

Dahlia stumbles into the bathroom and is thrown into another gruesome memory as she sees her reflection.

"Please.. don't do this." the boy from district 2 gasps for breath as her foot pushes down harder and harder onto his throat. His arms are flailing and tears are slowly rolling down his cheeks. She gives him a smirk knowing that this is the last obstacle to getting the hell out of there. His arms stop flailing and he goes silent. Dahlia smiles a genuine smile for the first time. Tears of joy start to flow from her eyes as she realizes that she gets to go home.

She splashes water onto her face hoping that it will wash away that rancid memory with it.

"I miss when I could look in the mirror and not hate what I see looking back at me." she said out loud as she dusted her pale skin with powder.

"Dahlia, seriously. Come on. We need to get going." Tiegen knocks on the door gently.

"I'm coming!" She tossed her still perfectly curled black locks over her shoulder, pulls a dress over her head and takes a deep breath.

"Dahlia, over here, do you have any words for the possible tributes for this years games?" A man shoves a microphone in her face.

She plasters on the fake smile that she is so used to wearing and prepares herself for the series of questions to follow.

"Winning the Hunger games is the best thing that will ever happen to you. You have the opportunity to bring honor and respect back home with you to your district and the opportunity to change your own life in every aspect imaginable."

"Do you think that going from being a plain Jane in district 11 to this is hard to adjust to?"

ouch.

"It's really quite an amazing feeling knowing that people all over Panem know my name now. I am a role model for people now and it was weird at first but now there isn't a single thing that I can think of that I would rather be doing." She flips her hair, pops her hip and gives the camera and award winning smile.

"Last question Ms. Franklin, when you think back to the moments after you won the first annual hunger games, what was going through your mind?

Regret. Hatred. Sadness.

"I was just overjoyed that I did something honorable for district 11. There is no greater honor, really. I couldn't wait to get back an be involved with helping out with the many games to come in the future!" I hold back the tears willing myself to wait until I am alone. I rush off of the platform I am on and the tears start falling.

"Great job Dahlia." Estelle Geofferson pats her on the back.

"Right. Great." she wipes away her silent tears before the Head Game maker notices.

* * *

 _"What a shame we all became such fragile, broken things._  
 _A memory remains just a tiny spark._  
 _I give it all my oxygen,_  
 _To let the flames begin"_

* * *

 **Estelle Geofferson:**

 **Head game maker:**

"This year needs to be different,We need some pizazz if you will." she taps her pen on the desk in front of her as she complains to her assistant.

"The last two were good Estelle." her assistant Gregory chimes in.

"Exactly. They were just good. We want great. We want amazing. We want the best yet. Besides, there is something special about the number three, don't you think?" Estelle has a crazed look on her face.

"I mean I guess." Gregory states plainly.

"We need to show the citizens of Panem that this isn't a joke."

"With all do respect mam, I don't think anyone thinks it's a joke." her assistant says meekly.

"Do I pay you to question my thinking Gregory?"

"No mam." Gregory replies with an offended look on his face.

"Then stop the sounds that are coming from your face and just nod." her short blonde hair shakes as she laughs and her deep brown eyes shine with anticipation.

"This year, is going to better than ever before. I can see it now. Ugh I am such a genius. I can't handle it sometimes. I'm surprised my head isn't the size of a blimp to be quite honest with you Gregory."

Gregory nods.

"May the odds be forever in their favor... it's about to get real... sticky." Estelle says slamming shut the laptop she was looking at.

* * *

 **I enjoyed writing this chapter because now more and more ideas for the rest of this part of the story are coming to mind.  
**

 **I also just wanted to say that the Prologue chapters and the Capitol chapters are going the be the only ones written in third person. The Rest of them will be in first. I confused the heck out of myself for a second so that is whats going to happen.**

 **Sooo Y'all should submit. :) It will be a lot of fun for me to get to work with them so ya know, please :) haha**

 **There is a form on my profile.**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna!**


	3. District 2 reapings

_"This slope is treacherous_  
 _This path is reckless_  
 _This slope is treacherous_  
 _And I, I, I like it_ "

* * *

 **Hadley Marin, 16**

 **District 2 female.**

"Hadley, slow down, that is seriously not safe!" My best friend shouts from behind me, but I totally ignore him and pedal faster.

My long golden pony tail keeps whipping around my head and hitting me in the face but I don't mind it at all. This is amazing.

"Hadley, I'm so serious. There are stairs coming up and you are literally going to kill yourself." Lucas is out of breath, he is really having to work those little legs to keep up with me.

I push the peddles of my bright red bike as hard as I can and stand up to create more friction to make the bike move faster. The flight of stairs comes into my vision and I zone in. Shoulders back, legs straight and locked and eyes on the prize: the concrete that is just beyond the fourteen steep steps.

"Come on slowpoke!" I shout at Lucas.

"Are you freaking crazy?" Lucas slams on his breaks sending his curly brown hair into his face. His brown eyes get alarmingly wide as he realizes what I am about to attempt.

"Had.."

As I finally come close to the stairs I give one final pedal and use all of the strength that I can muster to lift both wheels off of the ground. The rush of adrenaline that takes over my whole body while I'm up the air is the most amazing feeling. Nothing else matters. All I can think about is this exact moment. I love that. Half way down the fourteen steps, I feel my bike moving out from under me. The handle bars are suddenly in my ribs and I am doing a flip over the front. I close my eyes just as I collide with the hard ground, the bare skin on my legs rubbing against the concrete.

"Oh my Gosh, Hadley!" Lucas throws his bike to the side and rushes over to me.

I look down at the blood gushing from my thigh and feel an eruption of laughter about to start. It starts as a giggle but as soon as I open my mouth it's a full on belly laugh. I toss my head back and stare up at the sky still laughing.

"That was awesome. I was so close Lucas!" I say catching my breath. Lucas hits my arm. He laughs but I can tell that he is mad.

"You are the craziest person that I have ever met." He says as he walks back to collect his bike. I ignore the current condition of my leg and limp to retrieve my bike and take my usual stop walking right next to Lucas.

"You are always doing things like this Had. It's not smart and it's completely reckless. You are going to end up dead before your seventeenth birthday." Lucas starts in on one of his fatherly lectures that I actually hate.

"Life is to short to not experience thrills Lucas. There is nothing like the feeling that you experience when you are in a dangerous situation and you don't know how it's going to end. It's life changing Luke."

"Yeah, whatever. I think it's plain stupid."

"Don't talk to me like I am a child Lucas. Do you not realize that the third games is about to begin. Either one of us could be the tribute from our district. I for one am not going to sit around and wait for my name to be called. I am going to live!" I say throughly annoyed. I fix my pony tail, apply lip gloss and hop on my bike leaving Lucas in my dust.

* * *

 _"I want to talk about me_  
 _Want to talk about I_  
 _Want to talk about number one_  
 _Oh my me my_  
 _What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see"_

* * *

 **Jayson Faller, 14**

 **District 2 male.**

I throw the ball from across my room and it goes right into the basketball hoop that hangs off the back of my bedroom door. My friend Keagun throws his and comes no where close.

"How did you do that?" he pouts.

"I mean, if you haven't noticed by now in our 13 years of friendship, you must be blind. I'm good at literally everything." I tell him.

Keagun rolls his eyes but he knows it's true. I met him when I was still little, we were basically forced into this friendship and annoying as he is at times, he's basically my brother.

"Not everything, you haven't even done literally everything. Nothing exciting ever happens to us." he whines.

He's not wrong. Life has always been pretty simple for my family and I. My dad works really hard for our family out in the quarries. My mom stays home with me and my sisters. My older sister Sahara is never home and doesn't pay much attention to me and my younger sister Megan, she's to busy with whatever boy is occupying her time at that given moment. We mostly just hang out with Keaguns family as our parents have been good friends for as long as I can remember.

"But everything that I've tried, I've been good at."

"I guess so." he says tossing the ball up the air over and over again.

"Besides, how can you say nothing exciting ever happens? The Hunger games is the most exciting thing in the world, and the reapings are tomorrow." I exclaim excitedly.

When I watched Tyson Wayford win the games last year, I knew that I could do the same. Everyone else in our district said that Tyson had beginners luck and that a stone mason could never come out a victor again. I know it wasn't luck and I know that I could make it back home. I want to prove everyone in my life wrong. District 2 can have winners and I am going to be one.

"Your eyes are doing that thing that they do when you get excited again." my little sister giggles after she barges into my room.

"Are you talking about Tyson and the hunger games again?" she gives me a knowing look. I get up, walk over to her and take her into my arms spinning her around in circles. When we both are to dizzy to stand we fall on the blue carpet in a fit of laughter.

"Meg, how cool would it be to tell everyone that your big brother won the third annual hunger games! Start practicing that sentence because you will be saying it." I excitedly tell her.

"Oh boy, here we go." she laughs

"I'm so serious. I know I could win." Keagun and Megan share a look before laughing again and this time at my expense.

"There is no way your name is even going to get called. There are way to many other eligible tributes." Keagen says when he finally stops laughing.

 _Jayson Faller! Your district 2 victor of the Third Annual Hunger Games!_

I lay on the floor looking up at the ceiling and hear those words in my head over and over again. A huge smile creeps across my face.

* * *

 **Hadley Marin, 16**

 **District 2 Female.**

Looking this good should be punishable by law. I mean honestly. I fix my long golden mane in my full length mirror, separating each and every curl one by one. I am a firm believer that the longer the wings of your eyeliner, the easier it is to soar. I line my blue eyes with the black liquid and add a nude lip gloss.

"Perfect!" I say twirling.

"Do you realize that twenty four hours ago you were sweaty, makeup free and racing to your death." my sister asks, sitting on my bed watching me.

"That's why you get you a girl that can do both." I wink and blow a kiss before falling into a fit of giggles.

"How do you know about that anyways?" I interrogate her.

"Lucas is afraid that your behavior is getting more and more reckless by the day." she replies staring me down.

Everyone is always on my case telling me that I am naive and that my behavior is going to get me killed. I call it living. I'm not going to get myself killed. I should be way more worried about the Hunger Games than fights, bike crashes, long falls and near drownings. I say that as long as you don't draw to much attention to yourself from the peace keepers, you just live and you look freaking fabulous doing it. Who says you can't be attractive and adventurous?

"Oh my goodness, you people need to chill." I tell her.

Ever since I was little, I loved addrenaline rushes. I can remember being on the back of my dads motorcycle, the wind feeling like little needles pricking my face and my hair flowing behind me. My mom always hated "that stupid motorcycle." She cringed when my dad would do wheelies or jumps with me on the back. I, however loved the motorcycle and made sure my bike looked exactly like it. I don't see my dad much anymore since he is so involved with the Capitol but I know he would be proud.

"The reapings are starting soon Hadley, are you ready?" My older sister bites her nails.

"As ready as I am ever going to be." I give one last look in the mirror and take a deep breath.

* * *

 **Jayson Faller,14**

 **District 2 male.**

"Jayson, come downstairs for breakfast!" my moms shouting wakes me up the next morning.

I realize what day it is and spring up out of bed. The aroma of syrup fills my nostrils and it's making my stomach growl.

A victor needs to eat.

I run down the stairs and into the kitchen patting Megans head as I pass her.

"What has gotten into you this morning?" my mother asks me nervously giggling.

"It's reaping day mom!" I can barely contain my excitement.

A solemn look spreads across her face.

"Oh yes, of course it is." she says pouring way to much syrup onto her waffles.

"I wonder if the tributes this year will actually be able to win and not just be lucky." she shrugs.

"I could win. The other districts wouldn't have anything on me." I tell her shoving a fork full of blueberry wafles into my mouth.

"Let's be realistic Jayson." my mom says.

I feel my excitment start to turn to anger. No body believes that someone for a masonry district could make it far in the games. What is luck anyways. Someone did it before and someone will do it again.

"Mom, come on. I was made for the games."

My mother gives me a concerned look.

"Please don't do anything stupid today Jayson, I mean it." she says.

"Yeah, please Jayson." Megan pleads.

I stay quiet. I don't want to upset my family but I really believe that I have what it takes. People should be proud to be from district 2 and I can make that happen. I can bring honor and respect back home with me, just like Tyson said.

"Go get ready. We will need to leave soon." My mother says avoiding all eye contact.

I rush upstairs, put ony my nicest pair of pants and a blue button up shirt, run a comb through my red hair.

"Let's do this." I say to my reflection.

* * *

 **Cecilia Day, 25**

 **District 2 escort.**

Ah! There is something about the way the air feels on reaping days! I am so excited to get this started.

I straighten my bright blue cotton candy like hair and fluff my enourmous pink skirt. I walk straight onto the stage and head straight for the microphone, as soon as the applause dies down I take the mircophone in between my hands and shout

"Welcome to the District 2 Reapings! Who is excited?!"

Silence.

"I am so excited to be here and to help kick off the Third annual hunger games! Let's get started shall we?"

"Let's begin with the females!" I walk over the bowl, stick my arm in and pull out the folded slip of paper.

"Hadley Marin!"

The crowd moves and a girl with golden blonde hair and blue eyes tip toes forward. She looks around as if she is hoping for someone to volunteer but when she realizes no one is going to she holds her head high and walks faster towards the stage.

"Introduce yourself, lovely!" I squeal into the mircophone.

"Hi.. My name is Hadley and I'm really uh pumped." She twirls her hair and looks uninterested.

"Okay.. Very well then, on to the males!"

I skip over to the other side of the stage and pull out the slip of paper."

"Corey Hollinsworth!"

" I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE." The crowd gasps as a very thin and frail looking boy with red hair and bright green eyes emerges from the 14 year olds. A loud cry comes from a younger girl in the audience. He looks back at who I can only assume is his little sister. He looks back at her and then walks confidently up to the stage and smiles out at the crowd.

"Wow! What is your name young man?" I bend down and offer the microphone.

"My name is Jayson Faller! You're future victor." he states with a huge smile spread across his face.

"A little confident, eh" I squeak.

"There you have it! You're district 2 tributes everyone!"

I bow and lead the tributes into the justice building.

* * *

 **Yay! The district 2 reapings are done! I had a lot of fun writing these two.**

 **Please keep in mind that I am still new to this so my writing will get better with more practice.**

 **Another thing is that since this is only the 3rd games, I wasn't sure that careers would like be a thing yet which is why I'm not writing them that way! :)**

 **Which tribute did you like better? :)**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna!**


	4. District 1 Reapings

_Your train of thought will be altered_

 _So if you must falter be wise_

 _Your mind is in Disturbia_

 _It's like the darkness is the light_

* * *

 **Adaira Levonte, 18**

 **District 1 female**

"Lolanie!" I wake up screaming. The soft moon light is pouring into my window and creating shadows on my walls. It is very unsettling.

This is the third night in a row that I have had this terrible dream. Except, it doesn't feel like a dream. I am reliving the worst day of my life over and over again. For one brief moment she is there, standing in front of me completely in tact. Fiery explosions all around us but not affecting us. The next moment, my best friend is flying through the air covered in blood surrounded by peace-keepers instead of loved ones.

For as long as I can remember, Lolanie and I were attached at the hip. We did everything together from playing with dolls when we were little girls to planning out our futures together as teenagers. She just got me. We were so happy. "Antsy Adaira" and "Loving Lolanie" were a force to be reckoned with. We laughed so hard that we cried, and sometimes we even cried so hard that it turned to laughter. Life was perfect. I had a perfect family a beautiful friendship and I couldn't have been happier. Lolanie was like my soul mate in a best friend form. She was the happiest person I have ever known. But, she changed. When her brother's disease took his life, it took part of hers too. She was just different and as much as I tried to understand it, I just couldn't. I had never lost anyone before. Her response was always the same.

"When someone you love decides to fade away.. nothing is the same"

I never really understood what she meant by that until my life changed for the worse. The Capitol had decided to cause mayhem in District 1. After that day, I knew what she meant all too well.

I woke up from a coma a week after the explosion and learned that not only had my best friend been taken away from me, one of my brothers and my father had been killed too. Nothing was ever going to be same.

I will the images out of my head and get out of bed. I throw my blonde hair up into a messy bun and quickly walk down the hallway.

"Ceyion, are you awake?"

"I am now. Did you dream about Lolanie again?" he takes one look at my face and opens his arms up to me. I hug my twin brother back and things aren't so scary anymore.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"Twin telepathy or something.." He jokes.

I give him a smile just to let him know that I appreciate his efforts to cheer me up and walk over to window to look out at the faded moon.

"Adaira, please tell me you aren't still blaming yourself for this. You know dad would hate that." he says with concern in his voice.

"I could've saved them. I could've saved so many of them…" my voice quivers.

"You did everything you could. None of this is your fault, you don't control the Capitol and when they decide to ruin peoples lives." Ceyion states matter of factly.

"I know I could have done more though. They were right there and then they weren't." I walk back over and lay down.

" You did enough. You've always been this way. It's an admirable quality but sometimes you need to take step back and realize that you are important too. You've always been so strong and so good at handling things on your own Adaira but you have to think about your well being."

I am not weak, that is a given. I can hold my own in normal situations, but this isn't and never will be a normal situation.

"Ceyion, it just all gets a but too much sometime. I feel like she would be disappointed that I didn't do more. That tears me apart inside." Tears well in my eyes.

"Stop. Where is the "Antsy Adaira" that Lolanie loved and admired. The girl who cares about other more than herself but doesn't take crap from anyone? The Adaira who's kindness is admired all over district one? She has to be in there." Ceyion shoves my shoulder playfully.

She's in there and I'm sure she'll be back.. I just don't know when.

* * *

 _Give it to me now._

 _I want the world,_

 _I want the whole world._

 _I want to lock it all up in my pocket_

* * *

 ** _Claudio Sterling,18_**

 ** _District 1 male._**

"Hey you! Come over here!" I motion the boy standing in front of the store to come over to me"

He slowly saunters over.

"What's going on?" he asks with a slight tinge of fear in his voice.

"Do you see those cupcakes on the display right there? Go get me three of them." I Demand.

"Why don't you just go get them yourself?" He asks me with furrowed brows.

"I mean, I would but I promised this guy that I wouldn't move from this spot until he gets back. I'm watching his store for him while he runs an errand." I lie through my teeth.

"Well are you sure that those are just for anyone to take?" he seems more willing.

"Oh yeah. Of course. I already talked to the owner of the Bakery, She is completely fine with it. Already paid and everything."

What he doesn't know is that I almost got myself killed there last week which is why I can't go back. The poor woman almost lost her mind when I burst through the glass of her bakery windows. It's not my fault I'm clumsy. She screamed so loud and sent the peace keepers looking for me. I thought I was never going to lose them. I don't feel bad though. Maybe next time I'll suggest stronger glass.

"Well, alright I guess. I'll be right back." The boy who has to be the same age as me walks over the three tier display of cupcakes with bright pink frosting and grabs two. Just as he starts to walk away, the owner of the bakery runs out.

"What do you think you're doing." she screams

The boy runs away as fast as he can probably hoping that peace-keepers don't hear her screams. I chuckle and the chase after him. When I catch up he is out of breath.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He shouts at me.

"I just wanted the cupcakes and thought it would be a hell of lot easier if someone else got them for me." I smirk and take the cupcakes out of his hands and turn the other way leaving him to deal with whatever consequences may follow.

It's not like I couldn't afford the cupcake. Because I could buy all of the cupcakes in the world if I wanted too. I just wanted to see if i could get that kid to do it for me. I laugh to myself as I think the situation over. People are so easy to read and I can normally play them like my very own little finger puppets. Ever since I was little I could wrap people around my finger in the blink of an eye. Maybe it's the blue eyes or maybe it's just my virtuoso acting skills. Either way, I know what I want and I know how to get it.

I walk through the neighborhood looking for the little girl who I tutor after school. I find her sitting out on her front porch with her nose buried in a book. I set one of the cupcakes down in front of her.

"Claudio!" She emerges from her reading trance and her face lights up.

"Hey Riya, I see reading is coming along well." I smile.

"Well, I'm trying pretty hard." She says.

"Read out loud." I peel the wrapper off of other other cupcake take a bite and listen.

She stumbles over words and I help her as needed.

"Great job, girl!" I joke.

She laughs but then gets a serious look on her face.

"Are we friends Claudio?" she asks.

"Of course, we are friends. Why do you even ask?"

"Emmie from school says that stupid girls like me don't have any friends and that's why I have a tutor." She mumbles.

This breaks my heart. While I couldn't give a rats behind about messing with older people, there is nothing that boils my blood more than people picking on kids.

"Would a stupid girl have been able to read a whole chapter by herself?"

"I guess not." she smiles.

* * *

 **Adaira Levonte, 18**

 **District 1 female**

"You look just like her you know." I tell Clarissa as I brush her hair.

"Really?" Her face lights up.

"Yes, really." I smile back at her as I secure the ribbon in place.

After Lolanie died, her little sister Clarissa fell into a deep depression. Knowing how it feels to lose someone so close I vowed that I would never let her feel alone and that I would help her every day for the rest of my life.

"I can't wait until I get my hands on the people in the Capitol. They can have all the material stuff back, I don't care for it anyways. I am going to make them pay for taking my sister away." Clarissa's face turns bright red in anger.

"You know what they say, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." I smile at her.

"Oh okay, grandma." She teases and we both start giggling.

It feels good to laugh.

I finish curling the ends of my hair and decide on a blue dress to wear to the reapings. It was one of my dads favorites because it makes my bright blue eyes appear crystal clear. I turn around to grab a pair of shoes and see Clarissa sprawled out on the floor.

"This is stupid. We shouldn't even have to go to this." Clarissa whines.

"I know, it doesn't seem fair but we really don't have a choice." I go sit next to her and smooth her hair.

"Come on. We'll go together." I put on a strong face for her despite the sinking feeling I have in my stomach.

She grabs my hand and we head out of the room.

"Wait! I forgot something." I tell her.

I head back into my room and look at the last remaining picture I have of when my life was happy and complete. I hold it close to my heart and smile.

"Whatever happens, It's all for you!" I say to the people missing from my life hoping that they can hear me.

* * *

 **Claudio Sterling,18**

 **District 1 male.**

"You can't keep walking around the district like you own the place Claudio. You are going to get yourself killed one of these days." My sister Lyn lectures.

"I don't mean to. I just always end up in these situations. It's like I have a magnet on my face that attracts trouble." I shout back.

I wanted a new shirt to wear to the reapings, so this morning I went to a few shops. When I was pulling one down off of the shelves, twelve other shelves decided to come down with it. Luckily, I was able to convince the owner of the store that it was completely their fault and that my neck really hurt. Not only did I get the shirt that I wanted for nothing at all, but I also got tons of other expensive clothes completely free thanks to my non existent neck injury.

Lyn throws her head back laughing.

"You are so full of it. I can't believe you sometimes. Mom must be so proud of you. You are just like her."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." I reply.

I give her a look and continue putting together a lesson plan for Riya.

"You are so good with her." my sister says looking over my shoulder.

"I really wish you would pursue a career with children."

"I really wish you would get out of my face." I tease her.

"Deny it all you want little brother. You are a total softy deep down."

"That is not true." I say.

"Are you nervous?" She asks me.

I didn't realize the loud tapping noise I was creating by fidgeting around with my pen.

"Not really. There is no way my name is going to get called anyways. The odds are not against me in this."

"Well, you might want to go get ready. You have a big day ahead of you." she pats my shoulders and leaves me alone at the table.

"Yeah, yeah. If worse comes to worse I'm sure I can talk my way out of this too." I whisper maybe trying to suppress my own fears of what today could bring.

* * *

 **Fauna Richie, 25**

 **District 1 escort**

"These are a few of my favorite things… dun na na na…" I sing to my reflection as I pull up my knee high red and white striped socks.

I love reapings! There is nothing that brings me greater joy than sticking my hand in that giant bowl and supplying a tribute with the opportunity of a life time. I can barely sit still.

"Fauna we are ready for you!"

Yippee!

I shimmy all the way over the to microphone.

"Well hello there my darling District 1 residents. It's a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and my husband isn't awake to run his mouth!"

A few giggles emerge from the audience.

"Lets get right to it then." I squeal creating a terrible noise in the microphone.

"Adaira Levonte!" step right up!

A Loud gasp comes from the 15 year olds as a stunning girl steps forward. She is thin but appears strong and has long creamy blonde hair, the bluest eyes I've ever seen. She's just really pretty. She smiles and calmly controls her sniffles all the way up to the stage but when she gets here her smile fails and she looks out at the crowd with a stone cold expression.

"Do you have anything to say, are you excited?!" I ask her eagerly awaiting her response.

"I mean, it's not the worst thing that's ever happened." she states looking down.

"Oh. Well congratulations. On to the males!"

"Claudio Sterling! Please make your way to the stage!"

The rest of the possible tributes in the eighteen year old section move out of the way leaving a handsome boy with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes looking horrified. He doesn't move. One minute he is standing there and the next minute he's down on the ground.

"Oh my!" I nervously laugh.

Peace keepers rush over and lift him off the ground and lead him to the stage.

"Do you have anything you would like to say" I ask the poor boy.

He doesn't even blink, it's like his face is frozen in shock.

"Well, round of applause for our District 1 tributes!" I screech as I lead them off the stage.

* * *

 **Hello y'all! :)**

 **Both of these tributes are so amazing and I had so much fun writing them. I hope you like them as much as I do. I really did try my best with these lol.**

 **A few things:**

 **I still have some spots open for this story so if you are reading and thinking about submitting, you totally should.**

 **Also, if you are reading my story there is a good chance that you came here from IVolunteerAsAuthor which is super cool. If not, you should go check him out. His writing is really great and he has an amazing story called "Journey to the Top: The 18th Games." He has really cool ideas for future stories too so you won't regret it.**

 **Which tribute did you like better? :)**

 **Predictions?**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna!**


	5. District 4 reapings

" _Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing,_

 _It's okay not to be okay..._

 _Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart._

 _Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising,_

 _Just be true to who you are."_

* * *

 **Rhiannon Hughes,15**

 **District 4 female**

"Very good Rhiannon, everyone watch Rhiannon. THAT is how you go from a grand jete into a pirouette. Again if you will." Ms. Swanson shouts across the dance studio.

I feel my face get hot as the rest of the students in the dance studio turn and look my way. I turn back to the mirrors and prepare to do it again. I stare at my reflection. My long brown hair is piled into a perfect top knot bun placed perfectly on the top of my head and my black leotard contrasts perfectly with my pink pointe shoes. The thought of messing up with everyone watching me makes me cringe. I hold my head high and strut to one end of the room. Run and jump into a grand jete. With both of my feet off of the ground, i feel invincible. I glide across the stage and fall into a pirouette. As I spin faster and faster my worries are completely free from my mind. I come to a complete stop and prepare to be hard core critiqued. That was not good.

"Absolute perfection! Great job Rhiannon. Take notes Class." I give the rest of my classmates a quick smile and look down.

"Clean the stage and then get out of here! We will meet in two days so have your partner dance prepared."

The other dance students walk past me and give me praises and I quickly thank all of them one by one as they pass. Finally, my twin brother Riley runs up to me and gives me a hug. I giggle and push him off.

"You killed it, that was so great." he says

"Please. People are just being nice." I shove him away playfully.

"Dude. You are an amazing dancer, everyone knows it. Of course I'm better but you're still pretty good." he teases.

"Hey Rhiannon! Your pirouette was really good. Do you think you could teach me sometime?" A fellow student named Javonna comes up from behind and asks me.

I take a moment to consider how to answer this question. I really don't want to answer this in a way I will regret.

"Um.. sure. If I can find time!" I smile at her. She thanks me and runs to catch up with some of the other dancers.

"Wow. Took you long enough to answer that question. Stop overthinking everything Rhi." Riley pats me on the back.

It's not that I am scared of people, because I'm not. I'm not a weirdo. Ever since I was a little girl though, I have found solace in spending time on my own. I like to think and I think better with no distractions. I just like to hang back and observe. People sometimes misconstrue this as me being rude but really I am just kind of doing my own thing.

"Let's go home. I'll race you there." I take his bag and throw it across the stage giggling.

"Are you sure you wanna do that? You must like losing." he says shouts sprinting across the stage to retrieve his things.

"And how are you so sure that you will beat me?!" I shout over my shoulder.

"I mean, I am five minutes older than you!" he screams.

I use all the might in my already strong legs and leave Riley in my dust.

* * *

 _Sarabeth is scared to death_

 _Cause the doctor just told her the news_

 _Between the red cells and white_

 _Something's not right_

 _But we're gonna take care of you_

* * *

 **Riley Hughes,15**

 **District 4 male**

"Hey Riley!" all my friends shout my name as I walk through the hallway at school.

"Riley! What's up man!" I fist bump my friends as I walk past them and engage in casual conversation.

I'm talking to one of my best friends when I get a sudden wave of nausea. I toss my bag over my shoulder and quickly run to the bathroom. The fluorescent lights make the salmon colored stalls that much more ugly but i push through one of the stalls just in time. I haven't felt completely normal in weeks. I got some tests done a few weeks ago but between school and dancing I haven't had time to get the results. When I am done vomiting, I quickly wash my hands and splash some water onto my face. I ignore the slight pressure and pain and head to the dance studio for rehearsal.

"After the running man, you are going to want to do body popping movements, but make sure that you are in sync with the music. Riley is leading today so follow his instruction."

Hip hop dancing is my favorite.I have a lot of energy and since hip hop is so fast paced, it just works. It's a skill that I take extreme pride in. I am often getting leads in performances and as much as I would like to say that it is all on me, I wouldn't be where I am now without my sister Rhiannon and her love for thinking and planning. If it was up to me, I would make a dance desicion on a whim but Rhiannon makes me sit and think it out before I act on it. She is my rock and the thought of her leaving or me having to leave her one day is my worst fear.

After an hour of body rolls and break dancing class is dismissed. The discomfort is getting a lot worse and it's getting hard to focus. I look out into the empty auditorium and see Rhiannon sitting there screaming and clapping before falling into a fit of giggles so I head her way.

"Hey, Rhi! I am really not feeling well. I think I'm gonna go see the doctor and get those test results from last week. I'll catch up with you later." I tell her.

She pops up from the seat and surrounds me in a tight bear hug.

"Alright, See you at home. Love you!" She gives me one tight squeeze before sauntering off.

At the doctor's office, a tall woman with bright red curls and a white lab coat walks into the room.

"Riley Hughes." She looks down at the paperwork that she is holding in her hands and then looks up and smiles.

"That's me alright!" I say probably a little to eagerly.

"Just a couple questions before I go get your test results my friend." She sits cross legged on the stool.

"When did you start feeling sick." she inquires.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it was when the rebels in the district blew up the hospital and the radioactivity leaked out. I know a ton of other people are dealing with the same sickness."

"Ahh. Yes. Okay Riley, and then on a scale from 1 to 10 how would you rate the pain." her blue eyes peer out from the top of her glasses.

"It's not so much pain as it discomfort. I just feel off." I tell her.

"Alright Riley, thanks for your cooperation. I'll be right back with your test results." She smiles and leaves the room.

The next five minutes that the Dr. is not in the room feel like the longest five minutes of my life. When she finally returns though her bright and bubbly personality has changed into something quite somber. Instead of sitting on the stool she comes in and sits next to me and my mother.

"Riley… unfortunately what you are going through is a little more serious than the other illnesses we have seen lately."

"What.. What do you mean?" I stumble on my words.

"I am so very sorry to inform you that you have stage four Leukemia."

My mom lets out a scream and tears start falling from her eyes.

"We have money, we can pay for the best and most expensive treatment you have… please." she sobs.

"We can try. But I'm afraid that it might be too late. We give him 3 three months tops."

On the way home, my mother is crying but I don't know why. Nothing is going to change. I don't need treatment. It doesn't hurt. I am going to be just fine. I guess maybe it just hasn't hit me yet. People get cancer all the time though and a lot of them end up just fine too.

* * *

 **Rhiannon Hughes, 15**

 **District 4 female.**

I love puzzles. There is something about the way each piece has another piece that is specifically designed for it that I love. I think there is something so cool about the way all the pieces fit together to form something great. I am sitting in my room putting together a puzzle of a beach landscape when my parents call me down-stairs.

"Hey Rhi!" Riley tackles me and hold me down on the floor playfully but I am able to get myself on top and put my knee in his chest to hold him down.

"How does it feel to have your twin sister beat you down?!" I ask him giggling.

"Little sister… I'm five minutes older than you." he says with loud laughter erupting.

Riley is how I cope on most days. I need him and he needs me. I couldn't imagine my life without a twin. I don't know how people who don't have one make it through life to be honest.

The thing about Riley and I is once we start laughing it's almost impossible to get us to stop.

"Rhiannon. Riley. Settle down and sit down." my father says.

"What's going on?" I ask. Something is wrong.

"As you know, Riley hasn't been feeling great lately, and we went to the doctor yesterday." my mother says.

I turn and look at Riley who has a hard as rock expression on his face.

"Riley… are you okay?" My heart beats fast and I can feel tears forming behind my eyes.

"Rhiannon. I have cancer."

I never thought that it was possible to actually feel your heart shatter. Time stopped and for the first time in my life I pictured life without my twin. My mind went to a million and three different places but the only thing that I could focus on was that this was the closest that I ever been in 15 years to being without him.

"You can't have cancer… I need you." I say as tears spill out of my eyes.

Riley grabs my hand.

"I'm going to be just fine. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"Are you going to get treated?" I can barely speak. It feels like a huge rock has been placed on my chest.

"They say it's to late, that I have three months, but they don't know what they are talking about." Riley says.

I let out a blood curdling scream.

I just hope he's right.

* * *

 **Riley Hughes,15**

 **District 4 male.**

I didn't think that Rhiannon would react quite like she did. Cancer is just a small road bump. It won't change anything. I'm still going to dance, play basketball, hang out with my friends and do things that a normal 15 year old does.

The doctor didn't know what she was talking about. If my cancer was as serious as the doctor was making it sound I'm sure that I would be in way more pain.

"Riley! Whats up man." my friends shout my name as I approach the basketball court.

"Let's get this game going." I say as the ball goes through the net on my first throw.

Considering my current situation, I am not in any position to just sit around. At least thats what Rhiannon says.

After a few sweaty hours of shooting baskets with my friends I head home.

I find Rhiannon in her bedroom doing plies with tears streaming down her face.

"Rhi, please don't cry." I pull her into a hug.

"Look at me. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." I tell her

"You're not invincible Riley" Tears flow from her eyes at a steady pace.

"I've lived with this for a year already and nothing happened, i'm fine!" I tell her getting frustrated

"Lets think about it this way. The reapings are tomorrow and I just have a feeling that it's going to be me. I am never going to see you again Riley. You are going to be long gone before I make it home which won't happen in the first place." her face is bright red and her eyes are puffy.

"You overthink everything. You are not going anywhere and I'm not going anywhere." I tell her.

Cancer is something that I can deal with but going through life without my sister is not. I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen.

* * *

 **Monique Finbar, 28**

 **District 4 escort.**

The reapings are my least favorite thing ever. I hate being on TV. I would much rather stay at home and eat salt and vinegar chips and binge watch something on TV. I look at my reflection in the mirror and pull at my gumdrop earrings and my bright green dress that doesn't quite look right on my thick figure. I have got to stop eating chips.

"Monique, let's go." they usher me onto the stage.

"District 4! What's poppin?" I say flatly.

"Let's do this thing. Ladies first."

I take my time walking over to the bowl and fish out a slip.

"Rhiannon Hughes."

A small girl with white skin, a strangely beautiful proportionate face, long brown hair and brown eyes shows herself. She looks over at the males as if she is searching for someones face. She makes eye contact with someone and then she starts sobbing.

I would offer her the microphone but she is crying to hard.

"Okie dokie… Boys."

I go quicker this time just so I can get off stage faster.

"Eminet Flanders!"

"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE." the same boy that she makes eye contact with runs to the stage. He has brown hair that reaches his chin and brown eyes as well. It all makes sense now. Twins.

"What is your name young man?" I ask him.

"Riley Hughes.." he reaches out and comforts the girl.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" the girl screams.

"Not right now Rhi." he whispers.

The last thing heard before they close the doors on them is the girls angry voice.

"This just isn't fair! Are you crazy Riley?"

* * *

 **Hellloooo :)**

 **Riley and Rhiannon were so much fun to write because they made me think hard and made me branch out in my writing and I really just like them a lot. I hope y'all do too.**

 **So, after I wrote this I realized that I totally skipped district three and I apologize. I thought I had done it for some reason, but I'll have it up before the end of the week, pinky promise. :)**

 **GUYS. I have 5 spots left for this story so if you are reading this PLEASE send me something. :P**

 **Where I'm from is like currently acting as another ocean so I'll have plenty of time to come up with cool things.**

 **What do you think of Rhiannon and Riley?**

 **Predictions**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	6. District 3 reapings

" _Mirror, tell me something_

 _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _Fear of what's inside me_

 _Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"_

* * *

 **Cierra Hart,18**

 **District 3 female**

"Cierra, come here! I want you to meet my friend Dana!" my annoying friend Lindsay squeals from across the courtyard where we are having lunch. I roll my eyes and slowly walk over. When I reach the table where my friend and the strange looking red head is sitting, I cross my arms and pop my hip. This is dumb.

"Hi! My name is Dana!" she says with an obnoxiously huge smile going across her face.

"Cierra. Your hair is sticking up in the front." I tell her and then go back to examining my nails.

She quickly fixes her hair and I tug on Lindsays sleeve urging her to follow me back over to our own table.

"That wasn't cool Cierra." She says.

Sometimes I just really wish that my eyes could shoot daggers, who does she think she is questioning me?

"I'm sorry Linds. It's just that our circle of friends is actually pretty close to perfect so if we added anyone else in, it would just throw everything off. She seems nice enough I just don't see that happening." I put on a smile and get back to eating my lunch.

After we are all done eating and the other girls head home, I gather my things and go home. As soon as I get there I toss my bag down on my bed and head into the bathroom. My turquoise shirt pops against my dark skin and my long brown hair hangs perfectly in a curly pony tail. I stare at my reflection for longer than I should have. The longer I stare the more I don't like the person I see staring back at me. Tears start falling from my eyes and it surprises me. I don't cry often. When I do though, good luck getting them to stop.

I have stopped allowing myself to care so much about people and have stopped letting them in. It never ends well. Nobody understands me. Nobody understands the pain and suffering that my family has been through and I don't think that they ever will. I don't like not caring and it's something that I'm working on but thats just how it has to be for now.

My parents were rebel soldiers and they were pretty high up in the planning of the rebellion. When the capitol took over we were all seperated. We were torn from out huge house that I absolutely adored and thrown into different districts. Because my mother was a huge part of the rebellion I watched her get taken away and put into district twelve while my brother Cameron, my father and I were put into district three. Ever since that day, my dad has vowed to protect me in any way that he possibly can.

I am tightening my pony tail and touching up my makeup when my friend walks into my room.

"Omg, Cierra are you crying?" she asks with a genuine look of concern on her face and I genuinely appreciate her concern.

"No!" I exclaim as I quickly wipe away any trace of tears.

I don't cry. I am NOT weak.

* * *

 _And I can't change_

 _Even if I tried_

 _Even if I wanted to_

 _And I can't change_

 _Even if I tried_

 _Even if I wanted to_

* * *

 **Noah Blakemore, 17**

 **District 3 male.**

Deep down I think I've always known exactly who I was. I was never interested in girls no matter how hard I tried to force it. When I was growing up I never noticed the girls in my classes and as the years went on I slowly caught on that this wasn't considered normal. Everything changed when I was fifteen and I met Jeremy. Jeremy wasn't afraid to be proud of who he was unlike me. He was cute and he was sweet and when I spent time with him, things just felt right. We never actually dated because I never ever wanted to admit to myself that I was gay. But I'm gay. Like super gay. Not in an obvious way, I don't have the stereotypical gay guy voice, my fashion sense is atrocious and I enjoy sports and video games just as much as the next guy. I am seventeen now and I still haven't told anyone. I am scared of the repercussions. My parents would never accept me and i'm pretty sure I would be forced to leave everything that I have ever known.

"Noah, you are taking forever!" my best friend Sarahlynn is sitting on my bed complaning about how long it is taking me to get my life together.

We are in school to be engineers and we are going to be late.

"I'm coming, i'm coming. Hold your horses." I tell her.

"You seriously take longer than me to get ready and I'm a girl. Are you gay or something?" she jokes.

I walk out of the bathroom and go sit down next to her on the bed. I guess now is as good of a time as ever. With the reapings coming up, I might never get to tell anyone and part of me thinks I'm ready.

"Sarahlynn.." I start.

"Oh my God. Noah. Are you gay?" She throws her hand over her mouth and stares back at me with wide eyes.

My face gets warm and I can literally feel my body temperature rising.

"I'm gay. I've tried not to be but thats just who I am." I whisper and look away.

I am terrified that I am about to lose my best friend.

Sarahlynn reaches up and turns my face to look back at her.

"I love you Noah. You are amazing. I don't want you to ever think differently." She smiles at me and grips my hand.

"That's the first time I've said it out loud. I don't know why I am getting emotional." I nervously laugh.

"Yeah, Geeze dude. Get it together. Boys don't cry." She winks at me.

Maybe being true to myself isn't going to be as hard as I thought it was going to be.

* * *

 **Cierra Hart,18**

 **District 3 female.**

My friends and I are sitting outside enjoying the sun. A girl who I've seen around the district before but never had any interest in getting to know comes up and sits down next to Katrine.

"Hey girls. My name is Addison." She smiles.

"What on God's green earth is going on with your outfit dear Addison." I giggle as I sip my drink. She turns red and looks down. Lindsay elbows me in the side but Katrine, Isabelle and Navine laugh right along with me.

"I guess.. I mean… I was just in a rush this morning." she says tugging at her shirt.

"You look great." Lindsay pipes up.

I roll my eyes.

"Are you nervous for the reapings? I am kind of nervous but I'm mostly excited. I think it would be so cool to go in there and fight for district three." her blue eyes shine with excitement.

"I knew you're head was smaller than normal and weird looking but you must be stupider than I thought. There must be air only up there you freaking idiot." I lose my temper.

I didn't mean to go off on the poor girl like that but I don't like the games. I never have and I never will. The very first hunger games, my big brother Cameron was reaped. I only had five minutes to say goodbye and then he was ripped away never to be seen again. It was the first games, he had no idea how to handle himself and so he was killed in the bloodbath. I watched my brother die as punishment for something my parents were part of and I was almost certain that the next year was going to be me since my family was hated but for some reason I was spared. I came back to the district and befriended these girls and made them adore me so that if I ever get reaped one of them will Volunteer for me. It has to work.

"Freaking burn." Navine says laughing.

The girl gets up and runs away in tears and I kind of feel bad. Kind of.

I sip my water and silently convince myself that the reapings will not ruin my life this year, however I wouldn't be surprised.

Later that night, I sit awake in my bed thinking about my life in general. It just isn't fair and no one understands why I am the way I am. Heck, I don't even understand.

* * *

 **Noah Blakemore, 17**

 **District 3 male.**

"You have to tell your parents." Sarahlynn pressures.

"You don't understand. They will make me leave." I pick at my fingernails

"You are their son Noah. They are going to love you just the same. Just like I do." she squeezes my hand.

I can't believe that I am letting her talk me into this. I am still processing that I am out of the closet. It's… freeing but terrifying all at the same time.

"Fine. Let's go downstairs, but if they disown me I'm moving in with you." I joke.

"I've always wanted someone to help me pair outfits together in the mornings." she fires right back and I playfully punch her in the shoulder and roll my eyes.

My dad is sitting in our living room and tinkering with the many computers that we have siiting around and my mom is rocking my little sister.

"Mom.. dad.. I have something to tell you guys." I whisper.

My mom rushes over and sits on the foot stool and my dad takes his sweet time.

"What is it sweetie?" she asks when we are finally all together.

I take a deep breath and pour my soul out.

"Ever since I was little, I knew I was different. I've never been interested in dating and I think I'm ready to tell you why." I can't breathe.

Sarahlynn squeezes my hand reassuringly and gives me the push that I need to finish.

"I'm not straight. Like I'm really gay." well that didn't come out right.

"Oh honey. I know." my mom comes over and kisses me on the forehead and then goes back to attending to my little sister.

"Well would you look at that. I raised a queer." my dad shakes his head. He gets up and punches the wall. I feel tears coming but I won't let him see them fall.

"Let's just hope you don't get reaped. A gay wouldn't last longer than two seconds in the arena." he walks out of the room.

"Well.. That could of gone a little bit better." Sarahlynn says.

"Yeah.. But I feel… Good." I turn and hug my best friend.

What an Ironic time to feel like I am finally ready to get my life started, the reapings are tomorrow and I'm not ready at all.

* * *

 **Ian Wires, 26**

 **District 3 escort.**

Reapings are weird. This whole thing is still strange to me but I will never pass up an opportunity for the spotlight to be on me. I am standing by the stage door waiting to go on. I am wearing a top hat and have a cane that strangely reminds me of long piece of black licorice. My stomach growls and I remember that I must have forgotten to eat breakfast this morning.

I am ushered on to stage and the spot light is on me… finally.

"District three! How are you doing on this lovely reaping day. I am so excited to be here and help introduce your tributes. Let's get to it."

"Ladies." my cane makes a loud noise as I walk to the bowl.

"Cierra Hart!"

A beautiful girl with clear darker skin, long brown hair and perfect eyebrows stands in front of a group of girls. She makes eye contact with each and every one of them but they are silent. She holds her head high and struts to the stage.

"Hello there gorgeous! Do you have anything to say? Introduce yourself!" I say.

"My name is Cierra Hart and my friends are selfish bitches." She smiles as gasps are heard in the crowd.

"Wow. Let's get to the boys."

"Noah Blakemore!"

A tall boy with black hair stands frozen and looks as if he is pondering his whole life. He slowly walks up to the stage and stands with his hands in his pockets.

"Hello Noah, Do you wish you speak."

"I hope you'll see me back here. I deserve a shot at happiness." I think the audience is just as confused as I am by this remark but he stands firm.

"Give your district three tributes a hand!"

* * *

 **Hi guys.**

 **I just want to thank you all for reading and reviewing my story. I know it sounds silly, but 24 reviews is actually crazy to me because I was pretty sure that nobody was going to submit or even read this story and now my story is full which is insane. So thank you so much to everyone who submitted. If you're tribute didn't make it it's nothing personal. (Quinn, I pinky promise I wasn't ignoring you. I had no way of contacting you and the form you submitted didn't really have everything I needed to make your tribute shine! Sorry, xoxo)**

 **These tributes were different for me and I really enjoyed writing them. I can't wait to develop their characters and stuff lol. Now that I have my tribute list I will start working on a blog and also updating fast so that we can get to the games.**

 **Okay. I'll stop rambling now.**

 **What do you think of these two?**

 **Who has been your favorite tribute out of the 8 we've seen so far?**

 **Predictions?**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna!**


	7. District 5 reapings

_I wish the wind would carry a change_

 _Looking through the window to a world of dreams_

 _I can see my future slip away_

 _Honey you won't get there if you don't believe_

 _I wish the wind would carry a change_

* * *

 **Erika Ryner, 13**

 **District 5 female.**

"Are you sure miiss… Thank you so much." the man sitting on the curb takes the wadded up bills with a look of genuine bewilderment on his face. I look around checking for peacekeepers and luckily there isn't one around at the moment.

"It really is my pleasure." I pat him on the shoulder, return the smile and keep walking.

I am thrown into a memory. I am 10 years old. I am sitting in the living room with my parents. The pale blue curtains clash with the floral print couch and it makes it somewhat somber and gloomy. They were talking about the people of district 5. They were being so unfair and cruel even and I just couldn't take it anymore, so I thought I would chime in. I guess I've never really understood how a human being could look at another one and decide they are less.

"We have more than enough money for our family, maybe if we don't like the people who are struggling, we could give them money." I suggested.

"Don't be foolish Erika." my mother laughed.

"I'm not being foolish, some people here need it way more than we do." I smiled at my father hoping he would side with me. He didn't.

"Erika, you are being idiotic. We will not help those plebeians. Go upstairs and let the adults talk." He scoffed and sent me running.

I did something that some people would consider terrible next and I've kept up with it until this very day. I took money from my parents and started giving it to the people who needed it. Part of me feels terrible about it, but I also know that it's something that needs to be done.

I shake the memory off.

It's not that people in district 5 are dirt poor because they aren't but I just hate the way the citizens are treated here. My family is one of the few wealthy families in district 5. My parents own a small and well known power plant that brings electricity to the capitol itself. Needless to say, I've always had everything that I've needed. I look at the remaining bills that I have carefully placed in the pocket of my dress and walk towards home. I see the woman that I had given money to last week. She has a child on each hip and looks like she is exhausted. We make eye contact and she starts to walk over to me.

"There is our sweet, sweet Erika!" She comes over and embraces me in a tight squeeze that is almost impossible to get out of.

I hug her back and kiss each of her young children on their foreheads.

"I always love seeing your smiling face, it makes my day." She pokes my nose.

"I have to get home, but I hope you all have a really good day!" I wave at her and continue on.

"So sweet, that one." the woman whispers as I walk away.

Having people in the district adore me can be pretty awkward at times, but I do enjoy it. There is something about bringing a smile to a person's face that I just absolutely adore. People are people no matter how much money they have. Something needs to change and I really believe that I can help move it along. I know I'm young but I am not incapable of making a difference.

* * *

 _It's so easy to lose all the meaning of who you are_

 _What is your definition of a true super star?_

 _Is it beauty? Is it money? Is it power? Is it fame?_

 _Are you in it for the glory? What's the purpose? What's the gain?_

* * *

 **Bryce Constantin, 18**

 **District 5 male**

"Oh Bryce! It is so good to see you!" One of my moms friends pinches my cheeks.

"It is very good to see you Ms. Donahughe, You are looking good as usual." I shake her hand and flash her a smile.

"How is school going, still all A's" she gives me an expectant look.

"Of course. I'm in the top of my class this year." I am tired of holding this smile.

My mom and dad drag me to these parties with them with all these people pretending like it's the Capitol or something. It gets old.

"Brixon.. oh my goodness I am so sorry, I mean Bryce." A man sitting across the table from me yells.

My parents eyes get wide and my moms smile tightens.

The mention of my brothers name throws me through a loop.

"Brixon! Wake up!" I don't think the sound of my mother screaming for my brother will ever leave my brain. Her high pitched screeching and wailing will be something that I will hear for the rest of my life and it breaks my heart every time.

My family is the wealthiest family in District 5. Being in that position gained my family a lot of respect but being respected comes with a lot of responsibility to keep the respect. My parents have worked hard to get where they are and I am forever grateful to them. They would do anything for me and they never fail at letting me know how much they love me. My mother and father like to keep a good reputation for our family name and we have always done a pretty great job with it, until Brixon got in with the wrong crowd.

"Brixon, please. People are talking and it's not good." my parents pleaded with him over and over again to change his behavior and help upkeep their hard earned respect but he never listened. He was always back out the same night partying, drinking and God knows what else. I tried so hard to help him and convince him to stop but he was beyond help. Our conversations were always the same.

"Brixon, mom and dad work hard to keep our family name a good one. You have to get it together." I would tell him.

"I am not going to base my life around a name Bryce. I'm living my life according to me and that's how it's going to stay. Let people talk. I just really don't care." He would spit back at me without fail.

The morning that my parents found him dead in his room due to an overdose on drugs and alcohol changed everything. People did talk. It wasn't good at all. Not only did my parents lose their first born child, they lost the respect that they cherished so much. Rumors went flying around people started being disrespectful to our family. It was hard to watch people as genuine as my parents lose everything they not only earned, but deserved.

"Smith and Renné have no idea how to raise a child properly. It's really quite tragic." Rumors like this echoed around the town and my our biggest fear had come to light, our family name was tainted.

Over the years, people forgot about Brixon. My father worked and worked. The more money he made, the more respect that he earned and eventually our reputation was good again. It was then that I realized that in order for this to never happen again, I was going to have to become the perfect child. Good grades, good manners, well dressed and well behaved. I became the Golden boy and the apple of not only my parents eyes. I molded myself into the perfect child and put my wants aside for the sake of my family.

I don't think my parents know how stressful it is to be honest. I have always been good at suppressing my feelings and morphing myself into whoever the person I am talking to at the time wants me to be. I am not saying that every single person loves me because they probably don't but I don't give anyone the opportunity to slander me or my family name. I am Bryce Constantin, perfect hair, perfect family, perfect grades, perfect behavior whether I want to be or not.

* * *

 **Erika Ryner, 13**

 **District 5 female.**

I love painting. It's my escape really. With the blues, reds, greens and so many other colors I can create a get away and transport myself there in my mind. I am swiping my paintbrush that is dipped into a beautiful aqua color across the canvas creating a tropical oasis where there is only peace and everyone is equal when my best friend enters my room. I wipe sweat off of my brow leaving a trail of paint behind on my forehead.

"Woah, Erika that is beautiful." Tilla says.

We stand back and admire my work in progress together.

"Thank you! I just needed a break from life here." I hug her and we begin to giggle.

"Don't we all." she says laughing.

"Life is so rough at 13." I tease as I pair an outfit together for the reapings.

"How do you feel.." she asks hesitantly.

"I'm nervous. I just love people and the whole thing just gives me the willies really, but if worse comes to worse I will do my best and do what I need to do." I tell her.

She nods her head as if to agree with me.

"I don't know if I could win but how cool would it be if I got reaped and won the whole thing. I could come back home and make a difference, I could help make people's lives better and that's all I really want in life." I think out loud.

"You say that now, but you feel bad when you hurt flies." she throws her head back laughing.

"It would be really scary, but at least it would be a change of scenery I guess." I think at this point I am just trying to convince myself that it wouldn't be so scary. But I am terrified. I am used to people adoring me, not throwing knives at my face for entertainment.

"Well, people love you and I love you." Tilla gives me a quick hug before she scurries out.

I stand back and look at my painting. I would give anything to live in a place where sand squished in between my toes, crystal clear water washed away all my worries and peacekeepers and reapings were a figment of my imagination.

* * *

 **Bryce Constantin,18**

 **District 5 male.**

"I would love to dress in sweatpants and a t-shirt and go out and leave my textbooks behind for a little bit. Trust me, but I just can't." I tell my friends.

"I don't know man, it just seems really exhausting." My friend Evan is always concerned. He is the person who truly knows me inside and out but he wishes that I wasn't bound by society and that I could just live my life how I want to and he lets it be known.

"Are you telling me that I'm boring?" I ask pretending to be appalled before crinkling a paper and throwing it at him.

"You're not boring, you're just not you 80% of the time." He says.

"Leave him alone, Evan. He is fine." my friend Naomi is usually the mediator when we get into these conversations. She wants me to live my life to the fullest also but she understands why I am doing what I'm doing.

Most people only talk to me because of my parents money but these two know me as the bryce who doesn't comb his hair to perfection in the mornings, who doesn't always say please and thank you and who doesn't hang out at galas that my parents attend. They get to see the real me. Messy, funny and laid back, but they are the only ones.

"Don't your parents want you to be happy man?" he asks. It's obvious he isn't going to let this go any time soon.

"They do want me to be happy and I am happy most of the time, It just gets old after awhile. I'm eighteen years old, I want to be rebellious now and then, I want to sleep until three in the afternoon sometimes and I want to make mistakes. But I can't right now."

"One day Bryce, one day." Naomi rubs my back.

* * *

 **Holly Fuse, 28**

 **District 5 escort.**

The sparkles on my pink pumps remind me of crystallized sugar. I stare at them mesmerized. It's making my sweet tooth go insane. My blonde curls are huge and they would look much better with a tiara in it's rightful place. Right on top of my head. They ushered me onto the stage 5 minutes ago but I hate kids and I don't want to do it. Dirty and gross and I don't want to be touched or breathed on by one.

"Holly. Now." someone yells.

"Argh! Fine." I poof my curls blow a kiss at myself in the mirror and head out.

Children everywhere. Sickening.

"Hello everyone!" I do a princess wave.

"Welcome to your district 5 reapings, let's meet these tributes already." I prance over to the ladies side first.

"Erika Ryner!"

A thin girl with blonde hair that falls in the middle of her shoulders and a few freckles dotted around her face is groomed to perfection but she is letting out a blood curling scream and crying for her parents. Tears stream down her face as the peace keepers lead her up to the stage. Yikes. No babies for me.

"Ummm… Sweetie" I reach out the microphone to her but retract it right away, I don't want tears on me.

"Let's get to the boys then."

"Bryce Constantin!" A mix of gasps and snickers fill the air as his name slips out of my lips. He must be liked. A handsome boy with baby blue eyes, dark hair and the best cheekbones I have ever seen stands there looking stunned. Peacekeepers walk up to him and he just gives them a firm look before he walks up to the stage, he looks scared but he just smiles politely at the crowd.

"Ok, move along you two, give them a hand!"

I blow kisses to the audience and bow out.

* * *

 **Haiiii :)**

 **Sorry this one took me a little longer to get up. I have been pretty busy this week. But these two were so much fun to write and I enjoyed both of them a lot. Thanks for the submissions.**

 **All my spots are filled now, so hopefully I will be updating more than usual and we can get the games started. :)**

 **What did y'all think?**

 **Favorite so far?**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	8. District 6 reapings

_It ain't easy growin up in World War III_

 _Never knowin what love could be, you'll see_

 _I don't want love to destroy me like it has done_

 _my family_

* * *

 **Adeona Saveras,16**

 **District 6 female.**

I'm not cold hearted because I want to be, I'm cold hearted because I have to be. I wasn't always this way but living on the streets does that to a person.

"Addie, you shouldn't treat people like that. Let people in." blah blah blah.

The last time I let myself care about people I ended up a homeless orphan so the chances of that happening again are slim to none.

My family was from the Capitol. However, we were stuck in district six during the dark days with no way out. The peace keepers had promised us that since we were part of the capitol, that they would come back to pick us up soon and get us back home. But then my little sister was born into district six and we were no longer allowed to leave. We were stuck in a place where people build freaking trains and different methods of transportation instead of living a life of luxury. My family resented my sister for years and were so terrible to her. One day, my dad finally lost it and said things to her that he could never take back.

"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. She is a child!" I screamed at him.

"Excuse me?!" his face was the color of hot embers and I swear steam was coming from his ears.

"You heard me. Lay off her, you pretentious, hateful prick!" I shoved him.

"And you are just an ungrateful bitch, never lay your hands on me again." I ran up to my room and threw myself on my bed. I was just trying to stand up for my sister. Later that night, my mom came up to my room and she looked just as mad.

"You have thirty minutes to gather belongings and then we want you out of our house. As soon as your sister is old enough to fend for herself, she will follow. I have never felt so disrespected. I would be living a glorious life if it wasn't for that brat and the fact that you support that just isn't okay. Good luck Adeona." She said coldly.

That was the last I heard from my family. It was hurtful and I will never give someone the opportunity to hurt me again.

I've been on my own ever since and that is the way that I like it. I have been able to use my good looks and my stealthy ways to keep myself alive but more often than not, I have had to take tesserae whenever I can to feed myself. I don't like thinking about the past so i rarely let myself. It just reaffirms my theory that the more cold hearted I become, the better off I am. Some people would say that I have built walls that are impossible to climb around myself. Maybe that's true but if my past has taught me anything, it's that no matter how much you think the people around you love and care for you, they don't. If love is something that allows someone you've known your entire life to decide to throw you out on the street over a disagreement one day, I want no part of it.

I will never let myself love again. Love is superfluous. You don't need it to survive. Look at me. I'm doing just fine.

* * *

 _If you could see yourself now, baby,_

 _The tables have turned, the whole world hinges on your swings,_

 _Your secret life of indiscreet discretions._

 _I'd turn the screw and leave the screen,_

 _Don't point your finger,_

 _You know that's not my thing._

* * *

 **Borja Adventadore, 16**

 **District 6 male.**

I like the finer things in life. Everything that I have ever wanted has been given to me without second thought. That's the way it should be.

"Those looks nice." My friend is sitting on the expensive black couch that sits just inside the french doors in my room.

"Of course they are nice. I'm Borja Adventadore. It's not a huge deal though. I have at least ten more pairs in my closet."

My friend rolls his eyes and looks down at his own shoes.

I guess having a wealthy and powerful Spanish and Russian mobster for a father does come with it's perks.

I live in a wealthy part of district six in a huge house with my father and my uncles. They've always made sure that I have everything I need in order to be happy. I've never really been told no. In fact, the word might as well be foreign. My father never knew my mother so part of me thinks that he does all this to make up for that although he would never let anyone know that. Growing up without a mother was hard but I wouldn't want to be around anyone who didn't want to be around me anyways.

"You are looking very nice today, Mr. Borja" one of our servants exclaims as I am staring back at my reflection in the mirror making sure that everything adds up. My shirt is laying extremely well on my muscled figure and I can't help but admire. She is right, I do look nice today.

"Thanks. Could you please go get me some ice water, easy on the ice." I tell her in russian.

She puts the duster down and straightens her apron and starts to head down stairs.

"Actually, I'm going downstairs anyways. I will just get it myself." I tell her with a slight smile on my face.

Light reflects off the shiny marble surfaces in the kitchen making the whole room look as if it is made of diamonds. My father is sitting at the kitchen table going over something that I assume is private because as soon as I walk in, he shuffles his papers and clears his throat.

"What are you doing, boy?" he asks playfully.

"Just getting some water" I tell him as one of our servants walks into the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Borja, Mr. Iago." She nods at the both of us. My father completely ignores her but I walk over and give her a high five. When she leaves the room I notice that my father's face has completely changed.

What the hell was that?" he demands

"It was just a high five." I tell him with a hint of attitude in my voice.

"You are going to get nowhere in life if you don't live in a way where people fear you." he tells me sternly with a wild look returning to his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever.." I reply.

The look in my fathers eye gets even wilder and his fist raises up and makes contact with my left eye socket and then again with my stomach.

"Worthless." he spits.

You think it would hurt less and less with each blow, but it doesn't. I'm not sure if it's the actual impact that hurts or the fact that own father uses me as a punching bag worse.

I let him finish having his meltdown. He finally has had enough and leaves me in a pile on the floor.

* * *

 **Adeona Saveras, 16**

 **District 6 female.**

I'm hungry. I am sitting in an alley just waiting for someone at one of the nearby bakerys to turn their back long enough for me to snatch something. I usually do really well with not eating for long periods of time, but it's been longer than usual and it's taking it's toll on me.

"Hello young lady, how are you?" A man approaches me and kneels down. I look him up and down and carefully process how I should respond to him. I could tell him to get lost or I could milk this situation and get what I need out of it. I decide on the second one.

"I'm good Sir, how are you doing on this beautiful day?" barf. Even saying a sentence like that makes me want to vomit.

"Very well. Are you okay?" the look of concern on his face makes me laugh. He is so pathetic pretending that he cares about some orphan in an alleyway.

"I'm fine Sir. I'm just trying to find my way to the bakery. Could you please point me in that direction?" I flash him a smile. He turns his back to point me in the direction of the bakery and I snatch the wallet that was sticking out of his back pocket and quickly shove it under my arm.

"...then you make a left and then you're there!" he smiles at me and continues on.

I am just glad that the wretched old man wasn't observant.

Don't get me wrong, I know how to be nice and I do it often. Chances are though if I am being nice to you, I have ulterior motives. That is just the way that it has to be. I'm protecting myself. I'm all that I have.

* * *

 **Borja Adventadore, 16**

 **District 6 male.**

It's not the first time that this has happened and I'm positive that it won't be the last. If there is one thing my father is good at, it is putting fear in people. He is known for these crazy mood swings. One second, he will be smiling and playful but the next second he will be backing me into a corner and punching me wherever he can.

My father thinks that because I am friendly, that I have no edge and that any son of his needs to be equally as powerful and feared as he is. He isn't pleased that I consider almost everyone my friend.

I am sitting in my room putting ice on swollen black eye when my good friend Natalie walks in.

"He did it again, huh?" she asks concerned.

"It's fine. It's nothing new." I reply, wincing as I move the ice pack.

As much as I would like to say it doesn't bother me. It does. It has caused me emotional trauma but I would never be able to let anyone know that. I am sure he will come up to my room later today with the newest and most expensive item that he could get his hands on and make things right again. He always does.

"This is getting ridiculous. You don't deserve that, Borja." she twirls her auburn hair and twists her face in disgust as she looks at my eye.

"I have more money than people could possibly imagine! It's all fine!" I shout.

I throw the ice pack down and leave the room.

* * *

 **Kiva Titus, 25**

 **District 6 escort.**

"Reapings. Woo." I think to myself as I pin my hair back. This is the very last thing that I wish to be doing today. I would rather be at the spa or something but here I am sentencing children to their own death, basically.

I take a sour candy out of the bowl that is on my dressing table and pop it into my mouth. Sour. Just like my mood. I walk on stage and see all the children from the district standing there and it just makes me wish I was laid back with a chocolate mask and a mimosa.

"District 6! My name is Kiva and I do not want to be here so let's get this going." I shout into the microphone. Someone comes over and nuges me on my shoulder.

"Just playing." I fake a smile.

"Ladies.. Adeona Saveras!" I shout and scan the crowd for movement.

A beautiful girl with a very thin figure, dark skin and beautifully long dark brown hair that lays stick straight walks up to the stage appearing confident.

"Any words?"

"My name is Adeona, I'm 16 and I'm ready." she says.

"Boys.. Borja Adventadore!" What an interesting name.

A muscular boy with olive skin and a very attractive face and dark brown hair straightens his shirt and smooths his hair and then walks onto the stage.

"Words?"

"Let's go" he gives the camera a charming smile.

"There you have it District 6!"

I usher them off stage.

* * *

 **Hi Guysssss. :)  
**

 **What did you think of these two? I enjoyed writing for them both but I also did struggle a little bit with these two. I had to alter Adeona's story a little bit to make it makes sense since it's only the 3rd games but I hope you still like her Lord Zagreus! Borja was fun to write.**

 **Who has been your fave so far?**

 **Predictions?**

 **Also, this was supposed to go up last night but I was really exhausted so it didn't lol. I might update again tonight. I am hoping to have all the reaping chapters done by next week. That's probably a little bit ambitious but we shall see. :P**

 **Also, writerfromheaven is going to be doing a SYOT so if you feel like that is something you would be interested in you should go submit. :)**

 **Xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	9. District 7 reapings

_On the side of a hill in the deep forest green._

 _Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested brown._

 _Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain_

 _Sleeps unaware of the clarion call._

* * *

 **Cecily Prane, 15**

 **District 7 female.**

"Do you have anything to say Rose?" The district escort asks her. My mind can't wrap around the scenario of events that just occurred. Rose just got reaped. Rory's little sister. It isn't fair. I want to volunteer and take her place but my feet are stuck to the ground.I can't move or speak no matter how hard I try. Over and over a mocking voice sing songs _"sleeps unaware of the clarion call"_ I scream so loud in my head but nothing comes out of my mouth. I am frozen in time watching Rose be handed a death sentence and there is not a single thing that I can do about it.

I sit up abruptly in my bed with sweat dripping down my face. It's morning and the sunlight is streaming in through my blinds. The shadows of leaves and branches on my wall bring me back to reality. It was just a dream. I lay there for a few seconds thanking my lucky stars before I get up and put on a striped grey and green shirt with my favorite pair of jeans. I finish it off with the necklace carved into the shape of a deer ridden by a fox with a falcon perched on top. Rory carved it for me and it is one of my prized possessions. I tousle my light brown hair and grab my notebook so that I can head to my favorite place. I walk through the kitchen to get out the front door and give my mother and father a kiss on the cheek on my way out.

My family has never been handed the best of cards, but we make do with the hand we were dealt. We live in a poorer part of district 7. My little brother Shasta and I have worked in the paper mill for a long time and my mother and father work as part of a team that loads the paper products to be shipped out to the rest of Panem. We have money, but it's hardly enough. We have all gone to bed on an empty stomach countless amounts of times. Our house is alright but our roof leaks. We put a tarp over the holes to keep us dry during the frequent rains. I've come to terms with all of it, but it will never sit right with me. It all just seems unfair. I walk through the district waving at people working in the lumber yards on my way to the woods.

Walking through the woods gives me a sense of peace, the different shades of green and the different sounds completely relax my mind. About two and a half miles into the woods is a clearing with grass, ferns and breathtakingly beautiful wildflowers. This is my happy place. I find myself here often when the world just gets to be too much to handle. I go and nestle myself into a spot amongst the wildflowers and take out my notebook to write. I am working on a story right now featuring a fox, a deer and birds. The difference between my stories and other stories featuring animals is that my animals talk. That might sound childish, but it is far from it. I guess the characters in my story are just a way for me to reflect the dissatisfactions that I have with my life and Panem in general. I bird come and lands right next to me as I write and I can't help but smile. This small creature is so small and beautiful and I bet that it doesn't have many worries at all.

I sit in this spot in the same position for hours, writing before I realize that I have lost track of time. I gather my belongings and head out of the woods at a faster pace than I came in. I wouldn't want to be caught in here after dark and the sun is setting. I pick some wild flowers on the edge of the woods to bring to my mother and then head home. When I arrive, I set my bag down and getting to my nightly duty of chopping firewood for the family. Every bang of the axe reminds me of my life here in district 7. I wish I was one of the birds in my stories so that I could just fly away from here.

* * *

 _It hasn't always been this way_

 _I remember brighter days_

 _Before the dark ones came_

 _Stole my mind_

 _Wrapped my soul in chains_

* * *

 **Tannin Jiminez, 14.**

 **District 7 male.**

"Hey Tannin, thanks buddy!"

A man with sweat dripping down his face from working in the lumber yards all day gratefully takes the water from me and downs it in one big gulp. I smile at him and nod and then move on to serving the next workers.

My family doesn't have very much money at all and we are often hungry. My mother and father do their best to make sure me and my siblings know how much we are loved and they provide for us as much as they can but it somehow always falls short. I do whatever I can to help. I don't make very much by serving food to the lumber yard workers but it's better than nothing and I would do anything and everything in my power to make sure that my three younger siblings don't go to bed hungry more than they need to, even if that means that I don't get to eat that night.

"There is that infectious smile!" says another worker as he takes the food and water from my hands.

"Hello Sir, how are you doing?" I reply.

"Well, as good as one can do in this part of the district." he jokingly hits my hat, making it hang funny off of one of the sides on my head. I chuckle as I put it back in the right place and move along.

A lot of people would think that this would be a miserable job for the amount of money that I am getting for it, but it has been really great. I am a people person and I have a passion for knowing how people are doing, what they are thinking and if there is anything I can do to help them.

"Hey Chirpy!" Berty and Cedar are sitting down in the dirt looking exhausted so I pick up my pace and rush over to him extending them the food and water.

I got the nickname chirpy from them because of my small stature and my bouncy attitude. They say that I remind them of a small bird that is constantly flying around and won't stop chirping. I like it alot as it makes me laugh whenever the call me it.

Berty and Cedar are a married couple that have taken me under their wing. They treat me just like I was their own child and make my job a little bit more fun. Cedar pats the spot next to her urging me to sit down and share their lunches with them. It makes so it's even less food or them and I realize the sacrifice they are making for me and I am forever grateful for that and or them.

"You know, you are such a good kid. You uplift a lot of the people here in district 7 Tannin, I hope you never lose that." he tells me before biting into the bread.

"It's nothing really, but I am glad. I love it when people smile." I graciously accept some water but am careful not to drink too much so that there is plenty left for them. I eat and discuss life with Berty and Cedar for a little while before I get back to work.

By the end of my work period, I am exhausted but I won't let it show. I excitedly walk home to my family to tell them about my day.

* * *

 **Cecily Prane,15**

 **District 7 female.**

I need to clear my head so I gather my stuff and head to my happy place for the third time this week. I take my usual path to the clearing that I love so dearly and when I get there, I see Rory sitting there carving something with his knife.

"Hey beautiful." he says looking up from his creation for a brief moment. I toss my bag down and sit down next to him. He leans in for a quick kiss and then continues to carve. I watch him for a few moments and just smile. I never get to see Rory. I get sundays off from the paper factory and he gets Saturdays off so this is very rare. I think back to when we first met and I can't help but giggle.

I was walking in the woods, headed to the clearing to write when I heard something behind me. I turned around and there was a not so amused brown bear on it's hind legs. I started to run and it started to chase me. I didn't know what to do so when I came to this tall maple tree and had no other choice but to climb up it. When I reached the top there was a smallish boy with pretty grey eyes and curly blonde hair. He smiled at me and said "Now there is two of us, treed like possums." I giggled and that was the start of a beautiful friendship. Rory and I aren't dating but it's definitely not out of the picture because I feel safe with him.

"Are you ready for the reapings?" I ask him looking up from my notebook.

"I don't think anyone is ever really ready." he replies.

"You're right. I wish we could stay here forever." I twirl a daisy in between my fingers. Rory takes it from me and places it in my hair.

"You don't have anything to worry about with the way you swing that axe." he jokes.

I lay on my back in the soft green grass and just look up at the sky. I grab a hold of the necklace Rory carved me and I feel at peace.

* * *

 **Tannin Jiminez, 14**

 **District 7 male.**

"Come here little guy." I am chasing a bright green frog around the front yard but he is hopping like crazy. I finally get my hands on him and I cup him in my hands and bring him up close to my face to get a better look at him. He's cute and I don't want to hurt him in the slightest but I have plan.

All of my siblings are inside of our house getting ready for the reapings. I sneak the frog into the house and creep into my older brother Rowans room. He and I are very close and are constantly messing with each other. All out of love of course. Rowan is focused on getting his hair to lay just right and I see my only chance. I run up behind him and stretch the waistband of his pants and release the frog into them. It takes Rowan a second to realize what is occurring but when he realizes that there is an amphibian in his trousers he starts to scream. I fall on the floor laughing.

"What is going on in here boys!" my mom comes scurrying into the room.

"Tannin put a freaking frog in my pants!" he shouts as he pulls his pants down. The frog jumps out and I run after it to make sure that it doesn't get killed.

"Tannin, you need to apologize." my mom lectures with a slight grin on her face.

"Yes mam." I reply.

"I'm sorry Rowan." I say. He shakes his head but he does have a trace of a smile on his face.

I am grateful that with everything that has happened in my life that my family is still able to mess around with each other. I am young but I am aware of the harsh realities in Panem that people face and will continue to face for years and years to come. However, there isn't a single thing we can do about it at the moment so I believe that it is really important to make the best of it.

I rush to my room and put on grey corduroys and my tan collared shirt. I put my paddy cap on my head and wait until it's time to go to the reapings.

* * *

 **Amber Tindall. 25**

 **District 7 escort.**

The air almost smells sweeter on reaping days. Just like candy. It makes sense thought because on reaping days I am happier than a fat kid eating birthday cake. I have done it for the first two games and I just can't get enough. It's so exciting.

"District 7! Are you ready to meet your tributes?!" I shout into the microphone. My red hair is getting stuck to my bright pink lipstick making me speak with a weird lisp. I strut over the giant bowl and draw out a name.

"Cecily Prane!"

A beautiful girl with shoulder length light brown hair and tanned almost ruddy looking skin stands looking shocked. She hugs herself as she slowly walks up to the stage, silent tears fall from her eyes.

"Hello dear, any words?" I ask her.

"Goodbye." she whispers.

I take the microphone away assuming that she is done and then walk over to get the boys name.

"Tannin Jiminez!" I shout.

A small and slightly malnourished boy with tan skin, full eyebrows and a slightly lopsided smile starts moving forward. He is crying but it appears as if he is trying to stop. He gets to the stage and wipes his nose with his sleeve but doesn't look as if he wants to speak so I don't even offer.

"Give them a hand district seven!"

* * *

 **Hey there! :) This might be a kind of long authors note because I feel like I have a lot to say lol.**

 **Sorry that this is going up so late but I am babysitting over night tonight and the baby is awake so I'm awake.**

 **What did y'all think of district 7? I for one really enjoyed writing both of these characters.**

 **OKAY. So I have had the blog done for a little over a week now but I was holding off on posting it until all the reapings were done as It so gives away my arena but I have decided to put it out there because there is going to be more to my arena than you might think lol.**

 **thepower within3rdgames. weebly. com (close the spaces lol)**

 **I had been dropping arena hints in every escort POV so far as well lol**

 **I would love to know what y'all think of it but please remember this is my first time doing this so if it sucks I'm sorry. hahaha.**

 **Next, Y'all should go check out SkylarRide99's SYOT. :)**

 **UMMM I think that's it. :)**

 **Favorite? Lemme know what you're thinking and what you think of the blog!**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	10. District 8 Reapings

_Don't need permission_

 _Made my decision to test my limits_

 _'Cause it's my business, God as my witness_

 _Start what I finished_

 _Don't need no hold up_

 _Taking control of this kind of moment_

 _I'm locked and loaded._

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17**

 **District 7 female.**

"Daddy would not be pleased if he knew what we were doing right now." I tell Hilda as I sip the last drop of the sweet red wine that Hilda bought in my room.

I throw myself back on the bed and let out an exasperated sigh that is so long that it trails into a giggle.

During the dark days, my dad was a prestigious business man, he was always looking for ways for our family to climb up the social ladder. An easy way for him to do this was to use my sisters and I. I have five sisters and they are all drop dead gorgeous. I guess my father saw this as a way to gain respect and momentum on the social ladder so he would begin to arrange my elder sisters with wealthy businessmen. He is somewhat of a tyrant in our family so he was very quick to marry off my first two sisters I know that my dad means well and just wants the best for us but it never sat well with me. I sat back and watched all of this and decided that this was not going to be my life. I may not know exactly who I am or what I want but I do know that it's not that. I want the best for myself too of course, but I want to be the one to get it.

I developed a very independent attitude and I began to start pushing the limits just to see what I could get away with. I want to go down my own path, I want to live but more than anything else I just want to be loved and to be happy. I want to have the life that I dream of at night, not the life that my father calculates for me. Luckily, my mother is very invested in keeping her daughter's individuality alive and not letting it get crushed like hers. My mother comes from a mafia family and they were always the target of some sort of hit. She needed to know how to protect herself so she took up learning poisons and learned almost everyone that there is. I was always very interested in learning about them and would often practice with my mother while my sisters were perfectly fine with daddy cultivating their entire lives.

"Daddy is something else. He just can't even begin to fathom how a young womans brain works." Hilda isn't sipping her wine at this point, she is drinking it in swigs.

Hilda is my oldest sister. We have always been best friends and she is the one person who I feel I can really open up too. When Hilda got married, I was her maid of honor. I actually did like Jared a lot. The first six months of their marriage was great and he really did treat her like a princess. Something must have changed in him though. When Hilda and I would get together and catch up, I started noticing bruises on her arms and legs. Her once bright smile had faded into one that I didn't recognize and it broke my heart because there was always some excuse as to how she got them but I always suspected Jared.

One night, I had gone over to spend some time with Hilda. I walked into their house and the door to their bedroom was cracked. I watched as Jared threw his arm back and then with all his might connected his fist to my sisters face. My hand flew over my mouth and I busted into the room.

"Kenna!" Hilda shouted.

"You didn't see anything. Know your place little girl, or else." Jared rushed out of the house leaving my sister in a crumpled mess on the floor. That night, I sat with Hilda and we devised a plan to solve her problem. Jared had to go and I knew just the way to do it. That exact night, we started putting arsenic in his food. He became more ill with every passing day. He stopped hitting my sister and she was starting to have doubts about continuing the process but I wasn't going to let her take that chance. Jared suspected Hilda was cheating on him and banned me from ever coming back to the house because he assumed I was helping somehow. I found a moment to get Hilda alone and handed her a vial filled with a poison that would surely take him out. Jared died that day.

I honestly don't like thinking about that night, but I would do anything for my sisters and he needed to go. My dad already has more suitors lined up for Hilda and even a few for me but that's not how my life is going to play out. I am the author of my life, not him. I may not know what to write on my blank pages yet, but the important thing is that I am the one writing them.

* * *

 _They say the shoe can always fit, no matter whose foot it's on_

 _These days feel like I'm squeezin' in 'em_

 _Whoever wore 'em before just wasn't thinkin' big enough_

 _I'm 'bout to leave 'em with 'em_

 _Cause if I run in the game in these, man the seams are splittin'_

 _No pun intended but they're smellin' defeat in the air_

 _Headed where nobody took it, who meetin' me there?_

* * *

 **Jake Diaz, 17**

 **District 8 male**

It's funny how fast things can change. In a single blink of an eye, everything can be different. Different from how you ever imagined, and unfortunately most of the time in situations like this things don't change for the better.

Before the dark days, I knew that I was going places. Nothing could stop me. I know that I was born to play baseball. I was good at it, and I loved it. It was my life really. Growing up, every day after school my friends and I would play for hours on end until our parents would call us home. I used to think of baseball as just a game but as I got older and older, I realized that it could be more than that. I could make a life out of this.

My parents hired me the best batting coach that there was and I joined a high-school team and a team outside of school. I knew what my life's purpose was and I was high on life. It's a rare thing when something you love can become something that you turn into your career. I knew that because people were constantly telling me how good I was and that they couldn't wait to see me on TV playing in the big leagues. I could see my name in lights. I was going to do everything that I possibly could to make that a reality.

I had everything in my life lined up and ready to go. A full ride baseball scholarship to Vanderbilt University. I was the top recruit as a sophomore and so many different universities wanted me to come play for them but I decided on Vanderbilt because I knew that the team there would make me the most successful.

Then, the government took over and instated the hunger games and nothing will ever be the same for me.

A career in baseball was no longer an option for me and suddenly my life had lost all of its purpose. I decided to stay in school but instead of people giving me praise and encouragement, I started to get picked on and teased. I had never had this issue before and I didn't handle it well. My temper has never been one of my strong suits so I started getting in fights and most of the time, I was winning them. I guess all the training from baseball practice was at least good for one thing. I am strong and my temper is strong.

My parents didn't know what changed in me, but they should have. The hunger games isn't just some casual get together and life in Panem isn't a normal way of life. I went from being someone that people looked up to to an outcast. Of course I wasn't going to be the same. I don't really know what to do with the rest of my time so I workout alot and hang out with the friends that I do have.

I know that they say "Don't let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game" but what if the game is the only thing you ever gave 100% to.

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall,17**

 **District 8 female.**

"Sometimes I just want to shake him and say that is not how life works ya psycho!" I shout playfully.

Hilda is laughing so hard that she can't breathe and my other older sister Mary tries to suppress a giggle but she doesn't succeed. Mary would never speak out against daddy so the giggle surprises me.

When hilda finally catches her breath, grows a little more serious.

"Are you ready for the reapings Kens?" she asks.

I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them trying to get comfortable.

"I mean, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be but it just upsets me. It's just another way for people to try to plan my life out for me. Like, do I have uncapable written across my forehead or something? I can decide my life for myself." My sudden outburst of sass takes me off guard and I have to control the venom that seeps out when I talk about this subject.

Hilda and Mary must have noticed my facial expression because then we all start laughing.

" It's just a scary situation. It's not like any of us have ever killed someone before. We wouldn't even know how to go about doing something like that." Mary giggles as she sips on a sparkling water with lemon.

Hilda and I make eye contact from across the living room and bite my lip to keep from letting even the slightest sound come out of my mouth.

"Oh, of course not. That is absolutely absurd." Hilda squeaks before taking a long drink.

"They probably won't even call anyone from the upper parts of the district. They like to see poor little things running around trying to kill each other and I mean why not." Mary says.

Sometimes the things that come out of her mouth actually pain me.

"Well Kens, my love. You better go get ready. As much as I would love to keep you safe in a little bubble with me forever, you must go." she throws her hand on her forehead in a dramatic manner.

I giggle, get up off the couch and go embrace Hilda before I head upstairs to get ready.

* * *

 **Jake Diaz, 17**

 **District 8 male.**

"He's past first, he is rounding second, there goes third. Home run!" my friend shouts in his best sports announcer voice.

I run around the open concrete area and wave to all of my fans in the stadium seating. I wish. . Running on concrete isn't the same as feeling the grass beneath my feet but since grass in rare in district 8, I'll take what I can get.

Despite getting made fun of and becoming a complete outcast, I have managed to keep my fun loving attitude. I will never let myself sit in my house and sulk when I could be out making the best of my situation.

"Hey Andrew, catch!" the ball hits him right in the middle of the forehead and I fall back laughing.

Andrew thought I was weird when I first met him. He didn't understand the obsession with baseball until I explained it to him and taught him the basics. He is the one person who understands that change was something that was hard for me to adjust to.

"Are you ready for the reapings?" he asks rubbing his forehead.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about, but you never know" I tell him tossing the ball in the air and letting it hit the palm of my hand.

"Maybe not you, with that arm you can take anyone out." he jokes.

I tell andrew goodbye and head back home to throw something on for the reapings. I throw thr ball a little bit harder than I intend to as I approach my house and it flys right through a window.

"Jake Diaz!" My mother shouts.

I run inside and give her a hug and apologize. She scolds me for a second but then pulls me in for a hug before sending me upstairs.

* * *

 **Chantilly Holmes, 23**

 **District 8 escort.**

I don't know what the heck to wear. You would think that representing the district responsible for making freaking textiles and fabric that I would have a cute outfit to wear but no. If I am going to be on TV. I am going to be looking the best that I can. I finally decide on a long white dress with colorful glitter on the ends that remind me of sprinkles. My long red hair hangs in lose curls and my heels make me look a good foot taller than I am. When I am finally satisfied I walk onto the stage.

"District eight, hello there." I wink into the camera.

"I am so freaking excited for this. Let's get to it!" I swing my hips as I walk over the ladies side.

"Our district eight female is….. Kenna Rockwall!" I beam.

A gorgeous girl with dark brown hair, beautiful tan skin and striking green eyes stands frozen. Her eyes get big and she looks shocked. The peacekeepers walk over to her and grab her arms leading her to the stage.

"Do you have anything to say miss?" I hold the microphone out to her but she doesn't move. She just holds the same facial expression.

"Okay. I guess not. Let's go to the boys." I say.

"Your district 8 male is…. Jake Diaz!"

A boy with striking brown eyes and a muscular build holds his head high and walks forward. When he gets to the stage he doesn't speak. He just glares out at the crowd.

"Well. There you have it. Good evening folks, give them a hand!"

* * *

 **Sorry that this took me a little bit longer to get out, I planned on getting it out earlier but ya know life happens man. These tributes had such good backstories so I really enjoyed writing them and I hope you love them. :)**

 **I am feeling anxious to get the reaping chapters done so we can start getting into things so I will HOPEFULLY be updating more often. :)**

 **What did you think of these two?**

 **Favorite so far? :)**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	11. District 9 reapings

_"Blackbird fly Blackbird fly_

 _Into the light of the dark black night._

 _Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

 _Take these broken wings and learn to fly"_

* * *

 **Olivia Sheetz, 17**

 **District 9 female.**

"Do you think that people in the other districts can see the stars from where they are too?" I ask Clyde.

Clyde and I are laying in one of the grain fields looking up at the stars and I can't help but wonder what the other districts are like and if the people there are seeing them too. That is just how my brain works.

"I'm sure they can. They are so beautiful that it would be hard not to take a moment and look up." The chirping of the crickets almost overpowers his voice.

I've been with clyde ever since we were little. It was always obvious that we were going to end up together. Clyde is my rock. This life would be almost impossible without him. He is my opposite but maybe why that is we attract so strongly. I have always been very quiet. Don't get me wrong though I have very strong opinions and I am stubborn but I keep it to myself where as Clyde is loud and out there and he lets people know what he is feeling.

"You are so selfless Liv, always thinking about other people. I love that about you." He grabs my hand and squeezes.

Staring up at the night sky is one of my favorite things to do. It gives me the perfect opportunity to just think and be alone with my thoughts. I don't have a lot of time to do so during the day because my home life is kind of hectic. My mother and father work long hours out in the wheat field so I don't really see them much. When my mother is a home, she is very hard to talk to. She suffers from Bipolar Disorder and I know that it isn't her fault but she is very scary sometimes and I am just constantly terrified of becoming like that. One minute we will be sitting at the kitchen table getting along just fine and then the next she will be having a meltdown and screaming at me. I don't normally know what to do when these happen so I just back away and let my father handle it. My brother Christopher is seventeen but we don't really talk because we don't agree on a lot of things and it just isn't worth the argument. I am very soft spoken and I don't like confrontation.

If it wasn't for Clyde and my best friend Lilly, I don't really know what I would do. Lilly works in the fields as well but she has much more time to spend with me and I am grateful for them.

"What are you thinking about?" he perches himself up on one elbow and looks over at me.

"What am I not thinking about?" I tease.

My brain is constantly working. I am very good at statistics, abstract ideas and figuring out how things will play out. My memory is really good and I rarely forget anything even if it is something that I want to forget. Clyde is constantly teasing me that my wheels are constantly turning but I can't help it. I am stuck in a simple and plain life in a district that does the same thing day by day. I go to school, go to work, hang out with my friends, sleep and then repeat the next day. If I can't escape my simple reality, at least my brain isn't simple.

I scoot over closer to Clyde, lay my head on his chest and try to shut off my thoughts and just enjoy this moment.

* * *

 _"Cut my life into pieces_

 _I've reached my last resort,_

 _Suffocation, no breathing_

 _Don't give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding_

 _Do you even care if I die bleeding?"_

* * *

 **Pency Skewer, 18**

 **District 9 male.**

Hot. Red. Thick. There is something about blood that I just can't get enough of. The color, the texture, the metallic taste of iron that goes so smoothly down my throat. I take the last of the five bunnies from the box in front of me and slit the throat. Instant satisfaction follows as the small helpless creature wriggles and squirms until it falls still. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. I am content now. The taste of the blood makes my brain soar back to the first time I tasted blood.

I was 12 years old. My mother, my brother and I were sleeping soundly in my house when there was a loud crash from downstairs. My mother rushed downstairs and tried to see what was going on and when I heard a loud scream I rushed down as well. It was my father and his gang. One of the men had my mother by her throat. She had tears running down her face and was trying to scream and get away but his grip on her was to strong. She managed to get loose but one of the other men caught up to her and shot her at point blank range. Her blood splattered all over the walls and they just left her lying on the floor. I felt the rage build up inside of me. My younger brother ran down the stairs crying and trying to reason with these monsters but they took him out too. I snuck into the kitchen and found the biggest butcher knife I could get my hands on and waited until there was only one man downstairs. I let out a loud and raging scream and pushed all my motions aside and let the rage take over. I came up behind him and stabbed him as many times as I could until he fell on the ground. I did the same thing with the last two men and during the fights every time I got cut I felt more and more of a rush. I sat there all night long dismembering these terrible humans that took my family away from me. Blood got in my mouth, the taste was something that I loved automatically but also I have never felt more powerful and in control. I never turned back.

I lost all my faith in people as a whole and vowed to spend the rest of my life creating havoc among the people.

Every time that another breathing thing died by hands I felt more and more powerful. With every drop of blood ingested, my heart grew darker and eventually went away all together.

After my family died, I lived alone. I lived off of the animals that I butchered. My favorite part of the animals to eat were the hearts. So much grit and blood and the act of ripping it out filled me with so much joy. With every passing day my hatred for humanity grew and grew. I started cutting myself to get the thrill and adrenaline that I craved so much. Eventually, I got more bold and started cutting random people on the street and watching their blood drip out of their open wounds was the only thing that could satisfy me.

I come out of the violent flashback. I open my eyes and slice my arm and the adrenaline comes rushing back.

I kick aside the pile of rabbit carcusses and go to look for someone to mess with.

* * *

 **Olivia Sheetz, 17**

 **District 9 female.**

"Wait. Lilly don't steal that." I tell her as I observe our surroundings.

"I am so hungry Olivia. I worked all day and I just can't bother to wait anymore." Lilly reaches for the loaf of bread but I slap her hand away.

"You know that the peace keepers here won't tolerate this. You will literally get your hand cut off. You need your hands to work Lilly." The peace keepers in our district are very brutal and intense and don't hold back at all with the punishments. I avoid them at all costs and make sure that I don't do anything that could result in a confrontation with them.

"I have some at home, you can have it." I smile at her and grab her arm.

When we get back to my house we are sitting on the floor and eating the bread and just discussing as it has been awhile since we have had the chance to catch up.

"How are you feeling about the reapings?" She asks me shoving a piece of bread into her mouth.

"I am kind of scared. Clyde tells me all the time that I have no physical strength what so ever and he isn't wrong. I am just not strong in that sense." I tell her looking down at my thin figure,

"You might not be the strongest person, but you are so smart Liv. You could totally outsmart everyone in the games. I have nothing going for me." She says looking idly out the window.

"Well, maybe it would be exciting. Nothing much happens whole thing is weird but I guess it's our new reality so we had better start getting used to it." I finish my part of the bread and brush the crumbs off of my lap.

"That's true, I guess."

As simple as life is here the thought of it changing scares me a lot.

* * *

 **Pency Skewer, 18**

 **District 9 male.**

I go to jiggle the doorknob to see if it will unlock but the door is open. I sneak into the dark house of this stranger and creep upstairs to where they are hopefully sleeping.

There is a couple laying in bed perfect.

I zone in on the woman and walk up to her bedside and open the vial of blood that I was holding in my pocket. I screw off the top and hold the container high over her head and let the blood drip onto her face. I laugh to myself as her white skin turns more crimson with every drop. She wakes up and the last drop of blood hits her face and screams as she realizes what is happening. The man sleeping next to her wakes up and comes at me. I take a knife out of my pockets and slice his stomach. Not enough to kill him, just enough him bleed. He falls to the ground and his weak wife is too hysterical to come after me. This is usually how it goes, when I go on these adventures. People get scared and people don't know how to handle a man pouring blood on them in their sleep. It leaves them in a state of confusion but leaves me in a state of pure bliss.

I laugh until I get a safe distance away from the house. I lean back onto a tree and prick my finger and suck out the blood.

The reapings are today. I love the idea of the hunger games. So much death, so much blood and so much chaos. It's been on my mind for awhile because the rest of the peasants in the district are walking on eggshells. Not me. It could be the best experience of my life.

I start heading to the reapings pricking people as I walk by.

* * *

 **Wesley Fields, 22**

 **District 9 escort.**

I pop a mint into my mouth to freshen my breath. I am pretty annoyed that I had to leave the comfort of my home to announce these tributes. I love the hunger games but I don't want to be a part of this, yet here I am. I would much rather watch on TV like the rest of the people in the capitol but whatever. I straighten my cap and head out.

"I hope you are as excited to meet the district nine tributes as I am!"

"Being the gentlemen that I am, Ladies first."

There are so many slips in the bowl but I reach down and pull out the one on the very top. Less effort that way.

"Olivia Sheetz, please make your way to the stage."

A girl with red hair and stunning green eyes looks around her and when she makes eye contacts with the peacekeepers she heads to the stage. She looks afraid.

"Do you have anything to say Miss?" I ask her.

She makes eye contact with someone from the boys section and mouths I love you but politely declines any other statement.

"And our district nine gentlemen will be…. Pency Skewer."

A loud demonic and sadistic laugh errupts from a tall boy with shaggy brown hair and pale skin. He turns to the boy next to him and cuts him with something before the peacekeepers surround him and lead him up the stage. He laughs the whole way up and I don't even offer him the microphone for the fear of getting to close to him.

"Wow. What. Nevermind. Give them a hand please!" I rush off the stage as quick as I can.

* * *

 **Well, that happened.**

 **Pency was um very interesting to write for hahaha. These tributes were both cool to write so I hope you like them.** **I'm not sure if people are still reading my story, although I hope you are because I am really enjoying writing it and I am so freaking excited to get into the arena. We have three reaping chapters left!**

 **Which tribute did you like better?**

 **Predictions?**

 **Favorite district so far?**

 **xoxo**

 **Jenna**


	12. District 10 reapings

_"I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter_

 _Dancing through the fire_

 _'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar_

 _Louder, louder than a lion_

 _'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!"_

* * *

 **Theresa "Tessa" Cowell, 18**

 **District 10 female.**

"Get away from me, Fancy." I shout at the one of the chickens in the chicken coop. I have been out here searching for eggs all morning. By ten o'clock my basket is full and I am beyond ready to get inside. Gathering my own food for hours on end every single day gets old. I open the door to our little house and slam the door shut before I set the basket of eggs down on the table with way more force than was necessary.

"Tessa, please be careful with those. Food is going to be scarce this week as it is. The last thing we need it for the eggs to break." My grandmother says from the couch.

I plop down next to her on the couch and let out a long sigh.

"It's not fair. I'm the only girl in the entire world that has to deal with these things! Why me?" I whine.

"Knock that off right this instant Theresa." my grandmother scolds.

I feel bad complaining to my grandma because she is all I have left but I just can't help it sometimes. My grandmother is the only one who knows my internal battles and can help me to calm down and realize that my life could be way worse than it is.

I don't want to live and work on a farm. I don't want to have to struggle with food and worry about money all the time. There are so many people in the world and I just feel like I am the only one who deals with stuff like this on a day to day basis. .

I lost everything during the dark days. My parents lost their lives fighting in the rebellion and I never had any siblings. My family meant everything to me and then suddenly I was all alone. I lost my home, all my friends and I guess in a sense, I lost myself. I used to be a happy and carefree girl. I had a lot of friends, a great relationship with my parents. I never cared that we were short on money or that I worked on the farm. I used to enjoy it but now it just feels like a chore that I have to drag myself out of bed to accomplish.

"I can't knock it off. I feel the fire building inside me. I am going to explode." I can feel my face turning red and my body gets hot.

"Calm down dear, you will always have me." she slowly rises up from the couch and kisses my forehead.

"Love you grandma." I close my eyes and cross my arms.

"If you are feeling that angry, you should go outside and practice, just don't let anyone see you."

My grandma had given me a machete to use for cutting vegetables and roots from the ground. After the dark days though, I started going out into the plains and figuring out the best and most effective ways to twirl it and slice it through the air. It does help keep my rage down but I am very afraid of getting caught with it, I don't want to be punished.

Life sucks and people can call me ungrateful and dramatic all they want, but they are wrong. I am just a girl who doesn't deserve the life she is living.

* * *

 _"I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad,_

 _The craziest friend that you've ever had_

 _You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone_

 _Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong_

 _Over the bend, entirely bonkers_

 _You like me best when I'm off my rocker"_

* * *

 **Maret Wenling, 18.**

 **District 10 male.**

I don't mean to lie. I really don't but it's like every time that I part my lips, another lie comes out. Most of the time, this works to my advantage and I very rarely get caught but my conscience does eat me up inside. I have a good sense of what is morally wrong and what is morally right so it's not like I don't realize that what I am doing is bad.

"What were you thinking, young man?" the large lady asks me as I hold the piece of fruit in my hand.

"I honestly thought that they were free. I've just recently been allowed to leave the house so I don't know how things work." I reply giving my most pathetic look.

"You look a little old to just be getting to leave the house." She says furrowing her brow.

"You don't understand. After the dark days, my mom lost her mind. None of us were allowed to leave." I tell her. She nods her head.

"Mothers do tend to worry. Run along." she looks sympathetic.

I didn't use to be like this but the more I aged, the better I got at reading people and gauging just what they wanted to hear from me to get what I want. It's easy really. Being on my own has done me a solid in that sense. Maybe I got it from my father. He was the best actor and manipulator. I mean he convinced so many people that he was someone who he wasn't.

My father was a capitol spy who had pretended to be a rebel leader, he greatly assisted in the takedown of the rebellion. Many of the rebels were very upset and wanted to kill him but the capitolites loved him and after the dark days, my family was moved to the luxurious district two. It was here that my two older sisters and I were supposed to train to become head peace keepers. This was something that we were all very okay with. We had gladly accepted this as our new life. However, one day when my dad was walking on the street, he was murdered. I was only fourteen at the time so adjusting to life without my father was hard. After his death, my family and I were moved to district ten because without my fathers prestige there was suddenly no more room for us.

Soon after we moved, the games started. No one in my family was ever reaped but my mom got really sick and since no one really cared about us anymore, they didn't do anything to try and cure her. When she died, my sisters got married and moved away leaving me to fend for myself. My whole life I have been used to people leaving me but it's never really bothered me because I can usually manipulate myself into peoples lives and homes for as long as I need before I head to the next place.

I've never really had problems living on my own thanks to my acting skills and my lying. I've managed to allow people to let me do odd jobs for money and since it's just me, it doesn't require much. I've weaseled my way through some pretty interesting and weird jobs, but the latest one was the mayor of district ten and luckily, he's a nit wit who was just elected because he was a friendly person.

I may do bad things, but I have a decent heart and that is what counts in the end. Right?

* * *

 **Theresa "Tessa" Cowell, 18**

 **District 10 female.**

"Tessa!" Carla runs over to me at full speed and hugs me as we both fall over into the dirt.

"Hey, Carla!" I giggle.

Carla is a little bit older than me but she is the only friend in the entire world that I have. We don't get to meet up very often but when we do I feel like I learn new things. Carla is a good influence for me.

"How have you been lately, it's been far too long." she asks me.

"Well, the reapings are soon and I'm just not having that. It sucks. I wish I didn't have to deal with it." I tell her picking chunks of dirt out of my blonde hair.

"Tessa, stop complaining. You are not the only one who has to deal with this. I know it sucks but there are kids in all of the other districts that have it just as bad or even worse than you do" she says in a calming voice.

"I don't care about the people in other districts though. I just want my life to change." I roll my eyes.

"That is not a friendly attitude and you know it Tess. Stop being dramatic." she looks as if she is losing her patience but keeps her tone calm.

"I never said that I was friendly." I spit back.

When I get into these moods, there is no filter in my brain. Whatever I'm feeling comes out and I just really don't care how it sounds.

"Well at least we know that you won't have any issue with letting people know how you really feel in the arena if you get reaped." "she teases.

"Go wash the dirt off of yourself, put an end to your pity party and get ready." Carla smiles.

I return the smile give her a quick hug and run inside.

* * *

 **Maret Wenling, 18.**

 **District 10 male.**

"Maret, we need to stop." Courtney says.

"You're probably right, I don't even want to know what my punishment would be if your dad found out." I reply sitting up.

Because they mayor of district ten isn't the brightest, I was able to convince him that I was a fortune teller by playing my cards right and making multiple correct guesses about his life. He kept me around and gave me the attic in their house to live in. I do some stuff around the house for him and his family and he gives me money.

That was all that was supposed to happen but then I met Courtney, his daughter. She is the best and she doesn't care that I don't have much. Things have been getting pretty serious with her but we need to be cautious because that might be the one thing that I can't lie my way out of and honestly, I don't want to mess this up because it's the one positive in my life.

"He wouldn't do anything to you." she says kissing my cheek.

I brush her light brown hair out of her face and kiss the tip of her nose.

"I'm not so sure how he would react to some guy living in his attic dating his sixteen year old daughter and I kind of plan on keeping you around for awhile so for once in my life I won't take my chances." I tell courtney.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" She whispers as she lays back down.

"Not at all, to be honest. I think it's dumb." I don't want to let her know that I am afraid but I'm terrified.

"Well whatever happens, we have each other. I'll fight for you." she winks.

I have always been good at telling right from wrong and everything about Courtney is right. I'm scared to lose that.

* * *

 **Louanne wright, 22**

 **District 10 escort.**

"Are you a freaking idiot?" I scream at the camera woman.

"UP ANGLES ONLY. I WOULD DIE IF ANYONE THOUGHT THAT I HAD A DOUBLE CHIN. YOU INCOMPETENT LOSER." Oops. I lost my cool again. I giggle and smooth my hair.

"Sorry. I'm just a little flustered." I say sweetly.

The reapings are almost over and I honestly can't wait to see these little rodents go at it. It's a very exciting thing and it teaches them their place.

"District ten, let's send some people into the Arena!" I smile and wave.

"Ladies first, as it should be." I leap over to the drawing and fish one out.

"Theresa Cowell!" I gleam.

A girl with blonde hair and cute freckles glares up at the stage. She clenches her fists together and mutters something under her breath the whole way up.

"Do you have anything to say?" I ask.

"Of freaking course." she says.

"Well. I guess so dear." I giggle and skip over to the boys section.

"Maret Wenling!"

An attractive boy with dark hair and dark skin stands frozen. He won't move. The peace keepers grab onto him and bring him up to the stage.

"Words, young man?" I squeak.

"That's not me! The system is messed up! I am not Maret Wenling." he screams as tears roll down his cheeks. A girl from the 16 year old section is screaming and being led away by peace keepers as the tributes are lead away.

* * *

 **YAAAASSSS. (I'm sorry, I will never start another AN like this again. hahaha)**

 **I am going to really try to have the last two reaping chapters out by Thursday and then the train rides. I am so excited.**

 **Side note: Caleb always told me about how much he liked the characters in his stories back before I started writing one of my own and I never completely understood how easy it was to get attached to them until now so this is actually going to be so hard for me. xD**

 **What did you think of these two?**

 **Excited for the train rides?**

 **Hope everyone had a super amazing day.**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	13. District 11 reapings

_I'm a lion, I'm a tiger_

 _I'm a caged-bird, I'm on fire_

 _Got these paper wings, but they don't hold the air_

 _Get so close to somebody, but I don't stay there_

 _Much less brave than I admit_

 _Much more scared than they all think_

 _But I'm protecting the organ in my chest_

 _'Cause the blood, sweat, and tears they can make quite a mess_

* * *

 **Ciara Kelsall,18**

 **District 11 female.**

I try to better myself and become a better person on the daily. It's not my fault that I suck at it because I really do try. Just like every other eighteen year old girl in Panem, I have my issues that I need to work out.

My whole life, I have been smaller than everyone else my age.I am very thin and not very tall. It was always something that people were quick to point out and tease me about. Because I was teased about it so much when I was younger, I grew up with an idea in my head that people looked down on me because of my size. It made me angry and made me crave the attention that I saw other people getting so much more. I guess in a sense this made me annoying to some people because I just wanted someone to pay attention to me in a loving way. While my need for constant attention was annoying to a lot of people, my friends and family always understood me and why I am the way that I am.

Before the war, I was a normal child. I had a normal life and did normal things. My older sister Carlyn and I were very close growing up and I guess I kind of clinged onto her whenever I felt insecure. I followed her everywhere and wanted to be just like her. She used to tell me that I could be a great leader if I just believed in myself but I preferred to stay close to her and just be a follower. I had a great family life. My family believed in me so much even when I didn't believe in myself. They always supported me and Carlyn in everything that we hoped to accomplish in life. My dad raised us to stand up for ourselves and to never back down in an argument even if that means punching them in the face and getting away. I might take advantage of this more than I should but that is one of the things that I am working on. When I get angry, I just can't control myself and I can't be responsible for what happens next.

Carlyn says that I am a wild card and that my mood changes too fast when I get mad. I can be smiling one minute and then punching someone with no regard to the situation the next. I don't think that this is a bad thing. However, I am working on not snapping at people because once I start it is near impossible to get me to be quiet. I will not back down from an argument unless I know I'm wrong. If I know that I'm right I will argue until the other person backs down no matter what. I love the look on peoples faces when I prove them wrong and prove that I shouldn't be overlooked.

You see, Each and every day I am learning who I am a person more and more. Me. Ciara Kelsall. Not in anyone else's shadow, completely my own person. I do what I have to do to survive. All my life, I have been told that my size would be a disadvantage for me in a lot of things that life will throw at me. I firmly believe that the world would be a much better place if everyone tried to act a little better than they are inside. Maybe if people didn't make decisions on a whim to overlook someone because of their size it would be easier. I don't mess around when it comes to decisions about my life now because I am focused on self preservation. Being small and being from a lower district has tried to bring me down before and I'm sure it will again. But I'll make it. Everything that there is to life is surviving it.

* * *

" _I'm tired of being what you want me to be_

 _Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface_

 _Don't know what you're expecting of me_

 _Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes_

 _Every step that I take is another mistake to you"_

* * *

 **Oswald Preston, 18**

 **District 11 male.**

"Just stop Oswald." his voice echos in my head.

"Oswald! Are you deaf or just stupid." he screams.

"Answer me right now you ungrateful idiot." He raises his hand in my general direction but I know he won't do it. He never does. I don't think the understands though, that sometimes words hurt even more than a physical blow.

My family has never had a lot of money and that was always fine. My family believed that love was much more valuable than anything money could buy for us and that is how we lived our lives. Every night before bed we would gather in the living room and crowd around that small black coffee table with the red apples in the center. We would just talk about our days and provide support for the others if they had a bad day. My parents never let us go to sleep feeling unappreciated or unloved. My little sister and I were really close and would usually use this time to mess around with each other. My mother would just shake her head and roll her eyes with the slightest hint of a smile on her face and my father would just laugh.

During the dark days, my mom and my sister got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and I never saw them again. I guess someone saw them get shot at. When my dad heard the news, I didn't see him for weeks at a time and when I did see him, I noticed that he was a completely different person. It was like he lost all of the ability that his heart had to love. He became a cold and hateful man.

Every thing that I do or even attempt to do isn't good enough for him. He is constantly beating me down with words. I have no clue know what else to do to numb the pain that his insults are creating so I turn to alcohol. Every night after my father finally stops slurring profanities at me, I take the bottles that I have so carefully hidden around the house and drink until I am numb. When I am in this drunken state, there are no expectations, I am not oswald preston the boy who isn't going to amount to anything, the boy who isn't manly enough or the boy who should just give up on his dreams. I am comfortably numb.

You never know which way my drunkenness will go, either I will be calm and quiet or I will be belligerent and angry and destroy everything in my sight. The last few times has been the not so pleasant choice. I don't like being a miserable and unhappy person, but I will take it over becoming the insults that my father throws out at my on the daily. I will not meet his expectations of me. If that means being numb for the rest of my life then so be it.

* * *

 **Ciara Kelsall, 18**

 **District 11 female.**

"Ciara get off of me." Carlyn laughs while trying to push me off. I love making people uncomfortable, it is so funny to me. I unwrap my arms from around my sister and sit down next to her laughing.

"You need to go get ready for the reapings. I can't believe the day is here already." She says staring out the window.

"Yeah, yeah. Do you think that I could win it all if I got called." I ask her as I get under the blanket on my bed.

"I mean you're kind of small." She says winking at me.

"That's not funny." I snap.

"I mean kind of." she giggles pulling the blanket off of me.

I jump out of the blanket and get myself in a position where I can be in control. I can either throw a fit now and make her retract her statement or I can plan it out and get her back when she least expects it. I decide on the latter.

I go into the bathroom and pull my blonde hair up into a pony- tail and slip into the clothes that Carlyn picked out for me.

"Carlyn come here quick! It's an emergency!" I shout from the other room.

My sister comes rushing in ready to help me with whatever emergency awaits.

I stick my leg out and she tumbles to the ground.

"Oh, sorry. Did my little small leg get in the way?" I tease her laughing.

She rolls her eyes and giggles.

"I was just joking Ci." she states.

Normally I would leave her on the ground, but she is my sister and I really am giving the better person thing a shot.

* * *

 **Oswald Preston, 18**

 **District 11 male.**

"Oswald, what the hell happened last night?!" my friend Kay shouts at me.

I open my eyes and see the leaves of an orchard above me. My head feels like someone is stabbing it repeatedly as my eyes adjust to the light. When I finally come back to reality, I realize that there is a sharp shooting pain in my left foot. I look down and my foot is completely backwards. I scream in pain as I try and sit up.

"You smell like a brewery Ozzy." she looks very concerned.

"I don't remember Kay. I really don't. I don't even know how I got to the orchards. My leg hurts like hell and I know for damn sure it didn't look like that last night." I tell her.

"You need to stop this. You are a mess. " she grabs my arm and throws it around her shoulder helping me up.

The worst pain that I have ever felt follows and I bite my lip so that I don't scream out. I limp along and try to make sense of the night before as we walk to get help.

"I remember him being really mad me. He said I wasn't a man and questioned my sexuaity. I finally had enough and challenged him. We got into it and after he slung as many insults as he could at me, he finally lost it. He struck me. I don't remember anything after that." I say in between shallow breaths.

"You have got to get better at handling your problems." she lectures.

"I know, I know." I grumble.

We learn at the hospital that my foot is definitely broken but that there is not much they can do other than putting it in a makeshift boot until the pain is manageable.

With the reapings tomorrow, this is the last thing I need.

* * *

 **Poppy Juniper, 27**

 **District 11 escort.**

District 11. I am nervous to meet these tributes. I can't wait to be a part of their journey on their way to the best experience of their lives. At least that's what they tell us to say to the children. I for one, am not too sure about these hunger games. I believe that there is much better ways to prevent civil unrest but I would never let anyone know that I think that. Just like everyone else for the last three years, I am scared to speak my mind. Standing on the stage staring out at all these children breaks my heart. The sun looks like a butterscotch candy in the sky; bright and gold. It's ironic because that's how I appear on the outside but I feel the complete opposite on the inside.

"Let's meet our tributes!" I try my best to sound excited.

"Ladies! Your district 11 female tribute is…. Ciara Kelsall!"

A girl with a small frame and blonde hair stands still. Her brows furrow and her face turns beet red. Her fists are clenched and she looks like she is about to punch someone. The peace keepers approach her but she just ignores them and walks up to the stage. She gets up and turns to face the audience with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She declines the offer to say anything.

"And your district 11 male is…. Oswald preston."

A handsome boy with dark hair and dark skin limps forward. He has a cast on his foot and he looks terrified. He looks around as he limps to the stage as if he is hoping someone would take pity on him and take his place.

"Do you have anything to say Sir." my heart breaks for him.

"Just watch, dad." he says before stepping back.

I don't blame the tributed for being upset. They are young and they handled it way better than I would have.

* * *

 **Hey y'all. :)**

 **I really did plan on having this up way earlier today but I took a nap and then had some things to do tonight hahaha. But it's up and that's what counts right? :P**

 **What did you think of these two?**

 **I will have district 12 up tomorrow and then the reapings will be done! :) I am really pumped to start developing all the characters more. I love them all so much already so they will only get better.**

 **If you are reading this and you don't know who IVolunteerAsAuthor is you should look him up right now and submit to his story Ghost of Our Past. It's going to be awesome.**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	14. District 12 reapings

" _I'm a survivor_

 _I'm not gon' give up_

 _I'm not gon' stop_

 _I'm gon' work harder_

 _I'm a survivor_

 _I'm gonna make it_

 _I will survive_

 _Keep on survivin'"_

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16**

 **District 12 female.**

It just can't be possible. There is no way. I am standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom at my boyfriend Asher's house examining my body. Lately, my clothes have been fitting tighter, I have been nauseous all the time and my body has just been sore. My hands find their way to my stomach and stop there. How could it be remotely possible that there is a life growing inside of me? I mean, of course I know how but I can't be a mom. I haven't the slightest idea what a good parent is. I pull my shirt back down and walk back into Asher's room. I can't tell him. Not yet.

"Hey babe, get your butt over here." Asher teases as I walk back into the room.

"Don't objectify me, you asshole. I am more than just a pretty face." I tease pushing all my emotions down.

People are constantly telling me that I have a sailors mouth and the way I talk isn't lady like. I really don't give a shit. It's my life and I'm not going to sit around and pretend I'm some sort of Pearl that has never said the word fuck.

"Geeze, calm down sassy." he pulls me towards him and wraps his arms around my waste. He starts kissing me and I push him off.

"What's wrong sailor?." he jokes.

Asher jokes around like this all the time and I know he is just playing but I don't take it lightly when he jokes about women. Women can do anything men can do and in fact can probably do it better. Asher is wonderful though and he would never make me upset on purpose. He is the only person who knows about my past and still loves me anyways.

When I get home, I can't help but take my shirt off and examine my stomach again. I took a test a few weeks ago and I am pregnant. There is no denying it no matter how badly it terrifies me. I'm going to have to come to terms with it soon though, because with my small frame I will start showing soon. I stare at myself in the mirror and the flashbacks start.

In the walls, in cabinets, and under the floorboards. Those were the places where I felt safe. Safe from the devastating blow every single time my mom or dads fist collided with my small body. Their hot breath smelled so strongly of booze every time they got in my face and screamed profanities at me. Mom and dad would go after my siblings and when my brother and I tried to protect them, we would get it handed to us ten times worse. I was raised in a state of constant fear. One night, all hell broke loose and we finally had enough. My brother Owen had told my parents that the younger ones were staying with our grandparents even though we had just hidden them in one of the closets. We just wanted to spare them from this drunken rampage. Mom found them in the closet and threw them out on the floor and started hitting and kicking them. We pushed them off of the little ones and started taking the hits ourselves. Vera and Liv ran to the window and started screaming for help. My father walked over to the window and pushed Vera out. Her small body just disappeared

from the second story of our house. Liv's screams were blood curdling and thankfully that alerted the peace keepers. My parents were arrested and taken to prison in the Capitol. My aunt and uncle took us in and helped us to deal with the leftover trauma.

I can't be a mom. What if I turn into my mother? I would rather be anything else in the entire world than be like my mother.

* * *

 _We're building it up_

 _To break it back down_

 _We're building it up_

 _To burn it down_

 _We can't wait_

 _To burn it to the ground_

* * *

 **Allan Eregan, 14**

 **District 12 male.**

"Mommy, wake up." a small voice shouts.

"Mommy….. Mommy!" the voice echos in my head over and over again before I fully come back to reality. The small voice that is haunting my mind is my own at three years old, begging my mother to wake up. She never did.

We have never had a lot of money and it never posed any issues other than what we would be eating for the next week. All of that changed when my mom got sick though. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and no matter how many odd jobs my dad did, there wasn't a cure. I was still very young when momma passed so I never really got the chance to know her well, but I do remember her beautiful singing voice and the way that she would walk across the house swinging me back and forth in her arms until I fell asleep. Then she would creep into the bedroom and lay me down planting a single kiss on my forehead.

That was really the only affection that I have been shown in my entire life, when momma died, dad started working at the mines a lot to scrape up whatever food he could come up with, but that was the only time he ever came home. I am very grateful that he still does this so at least my brothers, Maciey and I don't starve. My younger brothers don't remember my mom at all and they never had the opportunity to get to know my dad because they rarely ever see him. They don't understand why their own dad doesn't want anything to do with them and it makes my blood boil. No child should have to grow up without parents. It's one thing to get sick and pass away but it's another thing to chose to abandon your children. The one and only time I asked him about it, his excuse was that we looked like her and he couldn't bare to be around us. It's a pathetic excuse and he is a pathetic man.

My older sister Maciey is the closest thing to a mother figure that we have. She works long hours as a seamstress to provide for Calvin, Corbin and I. The boys really love her and cling on to her with everything because they need a female figure. When Maciey isn't around for long periods of time, the boys go crazy. They become rambunctious and troublesome and as much as I try to calm them down and control them she is the only person that they will listen to.

I am not a huge fan of people, I never have been. I prefer to keep to myself and stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, I don't like attention and I avoid it at all costs. I went for 11 years without an excess of attention so it's just not natural for me.

Some people are just better off alone. The less people that you associate with, the less of a chance there is for abandonment and disappointment.

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16**

 **District 12 female.**

"Wait! Shut the fuck up and listen to me!" I shout at my best friends. Their laughter dies down and I chicken out.

I have never been good at admitting that I need help or telling people when I am in trouble and this is the scariest situation that I have been in since the night Vera died.

"Whats wrong Han?" Avari asks looking concerned.

"Oh.. nothing. I just really don't feel good. That's it!" I assure her.

"Yeah.. you don't look so good. You look a little puffy. Maybe you should run." Marsha teases.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I shout at her suddenly feeling very self conscious.

"Hannale.. It was just a joke. You really need to stop misjudging situations so quickly. Not everyone is out to get you. Chill out." Avari states firmly. I know she means well despite her tone. I do tend to misjudge situations pretty quickly and jump to conclusions but with everything that has happened in my life, I don't think that's a bad thing.

"I'm sorry.. I'm just out of it today. I think I'm going to take a nap." I grumble. I hug my friends and lead them out of my Aunt and Uncle's house.

The minute they leave, my walls come crashing down. I can't tell Asher. No matter how bad I want to and no matter how good of a guy he is, I just can't. I don't know how he would react and I just honestly can't afford another loss in my life.

I sit on my bed and put my head in my hands. The reapings could not have come at a worse time. I'm not just living my life for me anymore.

I put my hands on my stomach.

"We'll be okay little one." I whisper.

I just hope I can believe my own pep talk.

* * *

 **Allan Eregan, 14**

 **District 12 male.**

"Come on Allan, lets go!" Corbyn shouts and pulls the sleeve of my tattered grey shirt.

We are digging through a dumpster seeing what we can come up with. This week has been tough because Maciey has come down with something and is unable to work. I have already taken out the maximum tesserae so that my younger brothers can at least eat something and now I am running out of options. We are starving.

"Allan, now… now!" he pulls on the collar now.

"Just a few more minutes, there has to be something in here." I tell him urging him to be patient.

"No! This is so boring we can find food somewhere else!" he shouts, drawing attention to us.

"Be quiet.. We need to find something. Maciey is weak and needs to eat." I say sternly this time.

"Let's go!" he screams and jumps on my back.

"Corbyn.. Get off of me now, you are so annoying!" I turn around and shove him and he goes tumbling to the ground. He scowls, brushes himself off and runs away.

I have never been the best at managing my anger and sometimes when I am fed up, it just comes out in bursts. I let out a heavy sigh and continue rummaging through the dumpster. I have completely torn apart everything in the dumpster and I am about to give up and go home when I spot half of a loaf of bread. It has mold towards the end but I just pull that part off and head home to make sure Maciey gets to eat.

"I'm back!" I shout as I enter out small home.

"Allan, you are to sweet." Maciey says softly from her bed where she has been ordered to rest.

"No he's not, he's a jerk!" Corbyn shouts.

I am not in any sort of mood to deal with him today. I turn around and punch him in his stomach. He retaliates by headbutting me and running me into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Boys, enough please!" Maciey pleads.

"Leave eachother alone and go get ready for the reapings this instant!" she shouts.

I punch a hole in the wall and go get ready.

* * *

 **Sophie Twine, 22**

 **District 12 escort.**

Just two more tributes and the games can start. That is so exciting! I just love people and I am so excited to meet the two young people that I will spending time with. No time to waste!

I pull my strawberry blonde hair out of my eyes and perch my large hat just right on my head. It's pink and the polka dot's on it remind me of little jelly beans….. Ugh I'm so hungry. Jelly beans would be killer right now.

I walk out onto the stage and smile at the camera and wave at the crowd of people that is below me. They are so precious. Each and every one of them.

"District twelve! I hope you are all as excited as I am to meet the two lovely individuals who will be representing you as a district! Let's get started!"

"Your district 12 female is…. Hannale Croaw!"

A beautiful girl with dark skin and shoulder length black curls and big brown eyes stands horrified. She clenches her fists and furrows her eyebrows. It looks like she takes a deep breath before slowly walking to the stage. I hold out the microphone for her but she is to busy scanning the faces in the male section to even hear what I am saying.

"Moving along then…. Your district twelve male is…. Allan Eregan!"

A small boy who looks very unwell and malnourished, has grey eyes, shaggy brown hair and pale skin walks forward. His eyes are wide with shock that soon turns to extreme anger. His face turns bright red and be begins to shake.

"Do you have anything you would like to say young man?" I ask.

He simply shakes his head.

"Well there you have it! The reapings are complete! Give them a hand!" I shout and wave out at the audience.

* * *

 **Guyyysssss! The reapings are over!**

 **What did you think of these two?**

 **I like them both, they were both super different to write for so it was challenging but fun.**

 **This was supposed to be up last night but I got hydrogen peroxide in my eye and got a chemical burn in my eye so I was at the doctors or in pain yesterday lol but it's here now so that's what counts!**

 **There is a poll on my profile that I would love y'all to vote in so I can get an Idea of who you are liking and who y'all don't really care for. I'm just curious! :P**

 **SHOUT OUT:**

 **IVolunteerAsAuthor is going to be starting an Allstars SYOT soon and it's going to be really amazing. If you are interested in submitting I believe you still have a few days. :) He also is finishing up Journey to the Top which is amazing so you should check that out as well.**

 **ALSO, shout out to Caleb as a person for taking me to urgent care yesterday and for making sure that I had everything that I needed. Such an amazing friend.**

 **Next... Train rides. :) I will be doing 1-6 in one chapter and 6-12 in a different one!**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	15. Train rides 1-6

_When you fall, everyone stands_

 _Another day, and you've had your fill of sinking_

 _With the life held in your_

 _Hands are shaking cold_

 _These hands are meant to hold_

 _Speak to me_

 _When all you got to keep is strong_

 _Move along._

* * *

 **Adaira Levonte, 18**

 **District 1 female.**

I've been sitting in this chair for way too long but I can't move. I think there should only be so much that one person has to put up with in their lifetime and I just feel that I've reached the limit.

Claudio is staring at a blank space on the wall. These train rides are cruel. They leave scared and anxious kids alone to think about what fate awaits them. The Capitol is a seriously messed up place and I just don't even want to go there. He seems nice enough but I can't read him and that means he can't be trusted.

I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall. I doze off and hear Lolanies voice.

 _You are in the hunger games, that's so badass. Kill it in there girl. Literally._

A hand falls on the top of my head and wakes me up.

"Are you okay?" Claudio asks hesitantly.

This is why I don't sleep in front of other people. Only my brother knows about these dreams. I smile at what I heard though. Lolanie was so weird and she would absolutely get a kick out of the fact that I got reaped since I hate the capitol so much.

"I'm okay. Thank you." I tie my blonde hair into a bun on the top of my head and wipe the sweat from my brow away.

This partnership is going to go as well as you can imagine with two people whos trust issues are keeping them from speaking to one another.

"So.. What were you dreaming about? It sounded pretty serious." he asks. His bright blue eyes are hard not to look at but there is a certain emptiness to them.

"Oh.. um. Just my best friend." I tell him smiling. We have to start somewhere and I guess being friendly is the way to go.

"She must not be a very nice person. You sounded scared." he said picking at his cuticles.

" She was a lovely person, the loveliest person I've ever met actually." I tell him pulling my knees to my chest.

"Was… I'm sorry." he says.

"It's okay, really." I tell him.

"At least you have friends" he laughs. "For some reason people just really don't like me." he smirks.

"I wonder why that could be." I tell him.

He seems like he would be mischievous but he also looks like the doesn't care whether people like him or not.

"People don't like people who aren't afraid to live. Everyone in this stupid warped country is so afraid and I'm not going to live my life like that. I like to have fun." he states matter of factly.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. But there is a reason people are scared. The capitol is dark and twisty and they don't care who they hurt in the process of proving their power." I tell him.

"You sure didn't look scared. You handled that reaping like a champ." he smiles.

"Trust me, I was terrified and I still am but I am not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry on camera. They have taken too much away from me already and I just can't let my pride be one of them." I tell him.

I am really not uncomfortable opening up to him this much for some reason they words just keep flowing.

"Wow. You're tough. But you shouldn't care what they think. Just do you." he says.

"You don't understand the half of it." I tell him.

"I bet I do." he rebuttals.

"What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you?" I ask him raising my eyebrow.

"Well, I was raised on the streets. I've never known what love and affection was. I was jumped and beaten every single night for no reason at all. This woman took me in eventually and showed me what it was to be happy and loved and I just felt so at home. But.. she died too. I was on my own again and this time I knew what love was so it hurt that much worse. I fought my way through life, bleeding and heartbroken but I didn't let it get me down. I am a fighter." he tells me looking down.

"Claudio, leave that poor girl alone." Fauna says from across the room.

Despite her being from the Capitol, she is a very pleasant person and I have enjoyed the little bits that we have talked.

"What is he doing? He's fine." I smile at her.

"No, he isn't fine. Claudio was raised with a mother, a father and a sister in a house. He is just an excellent liar." She says giving him a skeptical look.

"Damn it Fauna!" he shouts.

"Wow. Real classy." I say rolling my eyes. I get up and move to the other side of the room where Fauna is sitting.

Claudio just shrugs.

"She was going to find out eventually." Fauna shrugs and goes back to filing her nails.

"You are very charming, young lady. If you just pipe down with the Capitol hate you might even get some sponsors." she says smiling.

"Thanks." I faintly smile back at her.

I look across the room at Claudio who doesn't look like he feels bad in the slightest and it actually infuriates me. That is why I don't trust people. They always seem to have different motives and I just don't have time for that, especially now. My walls were slowly starting to crumble after tragedy struck but now I am in this situation and it looks like it's time to build them back up. Brick by brick.

* * *

 _Forget your high society_

 _I'm soaking it in kerosene_

 _Line em' up and watch them burn_

 _Teach them what they need to learn._

 _Dirty hands ain't made for shakin'_

 _Ain't a rule that ain't worth breaking._

* * *

 **Hadley Marin, 16.**

 **District 2 female.**

I don't like sitting still and I especially don't like being confined in a small area so this long train ride has been driving me insane. I am standing near a window looking out at the beautiful landscapes and wishing that I was out there running around when a loud male voice interrupts my train of thought.

"This is so awesome!" my little redheaded district partner shouts.

"Stop that right this instant and listen to me boy!" Cecilia looks annoyed as she grabs the glass bottle out of his hands and sets it safely back on a shelf before excusing herself from the room for a moment.

Jayson gets an angry look on his face and I get the feeling that he hasn't been told no very often.

I roll my eyes and chuckle before walking over to the table and joining him.

"Hey Hadley. What's up?" Jayson asks smiling.

He really is a very friendly kid, annoying but very sweet none the less.

"Nothing, I'm just going stir crazy in here. I need to get out and do something wild." I tell him returning the smile.

"Well, you are in the wrong place. Cecilia is just going over things for when we get to the capitol and it's boring as heck. I already know what to do to get out of there." he says arrogantly.

"Please. You have no idea what you are getting into. None of us do and plus you're like an infant. Simmer down please. ." he needs to be put in his place and I would rather do it before one of the other tributes gets their hands on him. His brow wrinkles and he turns away to leave.

I am twirling a knife in between my fingers. I am so hungry and I can't wait for Cecilia to get back so we can finally eat.

"Let's play a game, Jayson." I smirk.

"Uh sure." he responds.

"Cool. Put your hand flat on the table and spread your fingers." I tell him and he listens.

I start stabbing the knife down into the table in between each of fingers, slowly at first and then faster. Jason's eyes gets wide and his jaw drops.

"What is the matter with you you psychopath?!" he shouts.

"Watch." I smirk at him and begin to swiftly move the knife faster and then I close my eyes I only hit the knife against the table five more times before he pulls his hand away and runs away from the table.

"You are actually crazy!" He yells while examining his fingers. I just giggle.

"Oh please. You are fine aren't you?" I laugh.

Cecilia walks back into the room and observes the look on jason's face and the knife if my hand.

"Hadley! You are not in the arena yet, don't try to kill people!" she looks appalled.

"I didn't try to kill him, we were just playing a game!" I reassure her while trying not to laugh.

"She might as well have. She could have cut my fingers off!" he grumbles as he walks to the other side of the table to avoid sitting by me.

"So Hadley, does this mean that knives are going to be your weapon of choice?" she asks while jotting something down.

"I mean, not to toot my own horn but I am pretty great with them." I beam and smooth my hair out.

"Well that's that then although I'm not sure If I should be concerned or not."

"What about you Jayson? What are you wanting to work with?" Cecilia fluffs her hair.

Jaysons face lights up at the mention of anything that has to do with the hunger games and I honestly feel bad for him. I just really think that he is in for a rude awakening.

"Everything! I want to use whips and chains and knives and guns. It doesn't matter what I use though, because I was made for this. I'm going to win no matter what!" The smile on his face is genuine and I think that he really believes he can win this thing. At least it's kind of charming. I think that he has good intentions he is just young and to innocent to really know what he is getting into.

"Oh my." Cecilia looks scared but then again I feel like she is scared of her own shadow.

"Tyson did it, he was so cool." Jayson goes on and on about the past two games.

We finish discussing things over dinner and then I go to lay down.

 _You can do this Hadley. It could even be kinda fun. You aren't going to die. You've got this._

In my life, I have always been all about the rush. The thrill. All the exciting things that life has to offer. I feel a rush now, but this time it's different and I'm not so sure it's a good one.

* * *

 _Remember when you dreamed_

 _To see the way you wanted to be_

 _We're the masters of illusion_

 _In a time of dark confusion_

 _There's a lot of things I don't know_

 _But I feel the forces that flow_

* * *

 **Noah Blakemore, 18.**

 **District 3 male.**

"Do you think that you could like not breathe in my general direction. Thanks so much!" Cierra flashes the fakest smile that I have ever seen in my life.

This is going to be the longest train ride ever. I've said maybe three words to this girl and she for some reason hates that I exist.

Luckily, I have always been a very patient person. I take pride in my ability to not let things get to me. I just go with the flow in life and so far it has always worked.

"Do you have something that you would like to discuss with me because you seem really angry with me." I take my chances and move closer to her. I think it surprises her that I am not letting her intimidate me with her words.

"Stop getting close to me, lover boy. I'm totally not interested." she scoots away and wraps her arms around herself.

I shrug and get up and go walk into the other room. I am not going to waste my energy on trying to get some brat to talk to me.

This whole experience has been really strange so far. I finally got the courage to do one thing that I have always wanted to do; be me. I thought that would change everything, change my life for the better. It's always something. Now I have to muster up the courage to ya know, stay alive.

I have been sitting alone in this room for a long time when there is a light knock at the door.

"Excuse me, can you come out here? Our doorknob of an escort wants to speak with us. Don't be rude." she flips her hair and exits the room.

"Glad you could join us, Noah." Ian says as I seat myself at the table. He throws back the last little bit of what I assume is scotch and clears his throat.

"Cierra." he states looking at her.

"Thank God you are here, lover boy. This guy is a total creep. I mean, look at his mustache. It has pedo written all over it." Cierra laughs at her own remark and gives Ian an expectant look. I kick her under the table. It amazes me how rude this girl is.

"I'm going to ignore that, young lady." he looks annoyed and a little bit insulted.

"Are you two going to want to train together or separately? These are things you need to start thinking about." Ian says combing through his mustache. I think Cierra made him self conscious and I can't help but laugh.

"Together!"

"Seperately!" we both say at the same time.

I look at her in complete shock. I really did think that she completely hated me and then she goes and says she wants to be trained with me. Girls are so confusing and for the first time, I am so happy that I'm gay.

"What?" I ask her shocked.

"Oh. I meant… I meant separately too." she looks down.

"Are you sure because-" I start.

"I'm sure. Training with you would mean that I would have to look at the atrocity that is your face for longer than needed." she looks pleased with herself.

I get up from the table and head back into my room. I don't have to put up with this and I'm not going to. I doze off and am awakened by a familiar sounding knock.

"Come in!" I groan sleepily.

Cierra walks in and sits on the edge of the bed.

"Look Noah, I'm sorry if me calling your face an atrocity offended you." she says while picking at her fingernails.

"Wait.. are you apologizing? It has feelings?" I fall over and grab my heart to tease her.

"Very funny, lover boy. I just wanted to say sorry.." she gets quiet and gets up to start to leave.

"Wait… Cierra. Are you crying?" The cracks in her voice gave her away and no matter how bitchy she is, I refuse to be a terrible person.

"I just shouldn't be here." she says.

"I mean, I don't think any of us want to be here Cierra. We don't really have a choice." I try to comfort her but I don't think it's working until she comes back and sits down.

"Can I tell you something?" she asks me timidly.

"Of course you can." I smooth the blanket next to me.

"I don't have it all together. Like I know I look amazing and I give off the vibe that my life is perfect but it's not. I actually kind of hate myself." she looks surprised as all of this falls from her lips.

"I thought that my friends were going to volunteer for me.. They didn't. I can't win this thing." big tear drops fall down her cheeks.

"You're preaching to the choir my friend." it makes me sad that she feels this way but I know exactly what she means about hating herself.

I think she realizes that she almost let someone in because she reaches up and wipes her tears away.

"If you tell anyone what I just told you… so help me God." she's back.

"Cierra.. I won't tell." i reassure her.

"And how do I know that." she raises one eyebrow.

"I'll tell you something now. If I spill, you can too…. I'm gay." It feels natural to say now.

She falls down in laughter. That wasn't what I was expecting.

"Seriously, Noah. What do you have to tell me." she asks brushing herself off.

"That was it.. I'm serious." I say. Her eyes get wide and she looks as if she feels bad.

"Oh… Thanks for telling me Noah." She smiles the first genuine smile I have seen from her and begins to walk out.

"And Cierra…. You can win. Don't doubt yourself. I wouldn't mess with you." I tell her.

"Let's train together?" she asks.

"Let's do it." I respond.

"Go back to sleep. Your face obviously needs it." she marches out.

 _Well, this is going to be interesting._

* * *

" _Don't know why I wanna make it even harder_

 _But I'm not the kind of man to take the easy road_

 _So much to do and not enough time_

 _Not enough time, oh I got_

 _So much to lose, I'm losing my mind_

 _I'm losing my mind, oh my mind"_

* * *

 **Riley Hughes, 15**

 **District 4 male.**

Rhiannon has been sitting in the corner ignoring me for hours. I would have expected nothing less from her but she would be actually insane to think that I was going to let her go into the freaking hunger games and not do everything in my power to protect her. It's not like I have a whole lot going for me anyways due to the fact that cancer has taken over. I feel fine though, I really do. Our escort just does not seem like a people person and hasn't been seen for while so I've been on my own in a completely silent room and I hate it. It's giving me way too much time to think.

"Rhi, come on. Come over here and talk to me." I finally plead with her. She scoots her chair around so that she isn't facing me at all.

"Real mature, Rhiannon." I huff.

This must strike a nerve with her because she stands up abruptly sending the chair flying back. She's stronger than I give her credit for. She turns around sharply sending her long brown hair all over the place.

"You want to talk about what is mature Riley?!" she yells walking towards me.

"You are sick, Riley! It's not like you have a cold or something. You have cancer! Do you need me to spell it out for you? You should be in a hospital, getting the best treatment that there is! You need to rest and heal." She talks so loud and so fast that by the time she is done screaming at me, she is out of breath.

"Rhiannon, calm down." I try she keeps coming closer to me and when she is right in front of me I notice the tears building in her eyes.

"We are only fifteen. This whole thing isn't fair. Cancer isn't fair, the hunger games isn't fair and it's especially not fair that you put yourself in this situation." she beings punching my chest and the tears start falling.

I intercept her punches and grab her wrists, pulling her into a hug.

"Rhiannon, listen. I have cancer. It's not something that can be changed and I could fall over at any time according to the doctors. If I have one year left, or one day left I want so spend it making sure you are okay. You are my best friend and we are going to be okay." her arms tighten around me as I speak to her and I can sense that she is starting to calm down. She pulls away and smiles.

"I still think you are a big idiot." she wipes the tears away and punches me hard in the shoulder and it actually hurts.

"Remember what mom and dad used to say when they would put us to sleep?" I ask her grinning.

"Oh my Gosh yes! It was so stupid." she giggles and the light returns to her eyes.

"It's double the giggles and double the grins and double the trouble when you're dealing with twins." we both say at the same time and then fall over laughing at how dumb it sounds.

"You know.. As dumb as that sounds and as cheesy as it is, it's true." she says.

"Wait, Rhi.. are you being sentimental?!" I tease her and she rolls her eyes.

"Shut up. I'm serious! We can use the fact that we are twins to our advantage. Double the trouble. Maybe it will intimidate people." she shrugs.

"If you can stop crying for longer than five minutes, that could work." I joke.

"Does that mean that you two want to train together?" Monique enters the room wearing a robe. She has two bad of potato chips in her hands and grease marks and crumbs all over her face.

Rhiannon's personality completely changes around strangers, she becomes this quiet and shy girl that I don't know at all and it's actually quite humerous. She stops laughing and smiles weakly at Monique.

"Obviously." I tell her.

"Cool. She nods her head, grabs more food off of the table and retreats back to the other room."

"She is such a weirdo." I whisper and Rhiannon laughs.

"This is just all so weird to me" Rhiannon moves the napkins sitting on a table together as if she is doing a puzzle. There is always something going on in her brain.

I turn and walk to the window to look at our new surroundings that are passing us by.

"You're smart Rhi. Thats a great strategy on its own" I tell her.

"It's not enough though and you know it Riley. At least you know how to make people like you, that's an advantage I think." she whispers focusing more on what is in front of her than this conversation.

"What are some other strategies that you are thinking of then?" I ask her while admiring the scenery. I can't wait to get to the Capitol mostly because it's going to be so different looking. However, if everyone is like Monique I don't want any part of that.

A small arm wraps around my neck and pulls me down onto the ground. Rhiannon shoves her knee under my chin and uses her hands to pin my arms down at the sides. She giggles and then crawls off.

"How was that" she asks taunting me.

"What the hell Rhiannon! Take it easy, that is no way to treat someone who has cancer!" I tease her.

Her face grows cold as she realizes what she just did.

"Oh my God I am so sorry Riley, I guess I just forget sometimes." I can tell that she feels terrible.

"Don't feel bad! I was just messing with you. It was awesome and I expect to see more of that." I tell her.

She starts to walk away and I run after her and tackle her down.

"Riley!" she laughs.

"You might be strong and smart, but I will always be five minutes older than you." I tell her.

* * *

" _Grew up in a small town_

 _And when the rain would fall down_

 _I'd just stare out my window_

 _Dreamin' of what could be_

 _And if I'd end up happy."_

* * *

 **Erika Ryner, 13.**

 **District 5 female.**

 _Well Erika, you can't paint yourself out of this one. It's real. You're stuck and there is no way out. You're all alone. You can do it though. Right? Right. Wrong. I want to go home._

My pep talk has somehow turned into me scaring myself even more. I have been crying ever since I walked off of the stage. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me and the worst thing that will ever happen to me. I haven't had a chance to talk to my district partner yet and I don't want him to think that he is stuck with some little baby who can't get herself together. I tuck a piece of my golden blonde hair behind my ear and nod at my reflection. I just have a low sinking feeling that I can't smile my way out of the hunger games. I take a deep breath and straighten my necklace and my skirt. Just because I have been reaped doesn't mean I can start looking sloppy. I'm not in the arena yet.

Bryce is sitting on a padded chair on the other side of the room. He is picking at his shirt and he looks very uncomfortable.

"Hey. Are you okay?" I pat his shoulder and give him a reassuring smile.

This seems to ease his nerves a little bit and he drops his shirt and snaps out of whatever strange trance he was just in.

"I'm doing very well, thank you. How are you doing?" he asks.

The formality of his response takes me by surprise.

"Why are you talking like that?" I giggle.

He squints and then puts his hands over his face in laughter.

"I'm sorry. I guess it's just a habit. I forget that you are the only one here and that you have no idea who I am."

"Oh, I know who you are." I tell him shyly.

"Oh. Great." he looks embarrassed.

"I mean, I've heard your last name in district five before. Other than that, I really don't know a single thing about you."

"Oh. Cool!" his face lights up and I can see the stress fall off of his shoulders.

"Are you like…. Bad or something?" I ask.

"No! Nothing like that. The opposite infact." he says and starts picking at his shirt again.

" You can tell me. If you want to that is.. This is a safe zone, I promise!" I smile at him and cross my legs preparing to listen.

I don't really know why people find it so easy to open up to me but it is a position that I gladly fill. There is no better feeling in the world than knowing that the people surrounding me are happy and I will go out of my way to make sure that they are. Whether it's just lending a hand or just being a good listener.

"My parents are very proud of our name. That is probably why you have heard it. They take extreme pride in the fact that when people hear our name, they associate it with money and proper, perfect people." he starts.

"Are you sure you're not talking about my parents?" I tease.

"You don't even understand. They are kinda crazy and their expectations were about to make me pull my hair out." he laughs.

"Does it make me a bad person, if I am kind of glad to get away for awhile.. Even if it is the hunger games?" he asks.

"Well, it makes you sound kind of twisted. But I guess it depends.. Away from what?" I ask uncrossing my legs and reaching for an apple that is just out of my reach.

"Myself.. I guess. I don't have them watching my every move now. They can't control my behavior, my looks, my study habits and manners. They just can't and it honestly feels so good." he smiles at me.

"I hate to burst your bubble because that is really exciting but they will be watching you.. Like every single person will be watching you." I say quietly.

"Crap! I forgot about that." His brow furrows and he gets up from the chair.

"If your family is so concerned about their name, you might want to keep up the good boy image in front of the cameras.. Sorry but I'm just trying to help." I hate how practical my brain thinks sometimes.

"No, thank you very much." he says.

"Stop talking like that ya weirdo." I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Come here. I tell him." Bryce strolls over and stops in front of me.

"Now is your chance to go a little crazy." I tell him.

"Start with your hair. You look like you popped right out of the 1950's." Bryce gives me a confused look.

"What... " he asks blankly.

"Just do it. Mess it up." I shout.

"This is dumb Erika.." he tells me raising his hands above his head.

"Fine. Be perfect and proper Bryce even in private." I tell him crossing my arms and getting ready to leave him alone.

He messes up his brown hair and when he is finished there are pieces sticking up everywhere. .

"I don't even know why I am taking orders from a midget." he teases.

"Is that the way a Constantin should take to other people? " I gasp.

He rolls his eyes and exits the room.

Well, at least that took my mind off things for a little while. The slow hum of the train against the tracks is a constant reminder of where I am headed. I'm going to compete in the 3rd annual hunger games. I wish that this was just one of the crazy paintings that I had created when I was sitting bored in my room. That way, time could stay frozen forever and I wouldn't have to fight for my life.

I can't help but start crying again. I hear footsteps enter the room and try to wipe my tears away as fast as I can.

"You know that it's okay to cry right?" Bryce asks me sitting down.

His hair is fixed. I guess old habits really are hard to break.

"I'm really scared. I want to go home." I whimper.

"It's normal. You would be strange if you weren't scared to be honest. You said you were thirteen right?" he asks my sympathetically.

"Yeah.." I say.

"Stop trying to be a mini adult then. You should be crying all the time… hormones or something like that." he cringes as the words leave his mouth.

"Coming from you. You keep it together all the time." I say quietly.

"I have to.. You don't. The hunger games are scary and very unfair. You are very right about that. But you are small and nice. Use it." he pats my shoulder, grabs a glass of water that is sitting on the end table and goes back to his room.

He is nice. It's a shame that we are fighting against each other. I can't help but wonder if he will still be nice once all the action starts.

* * *

" _Stuck in her daydream_

 _Been this way since eighteen_

 _But lately her face seems_

 _Slowly sinking, wasting_

 _Crumbling like pastries_

 _And they scream_

 _The worst things in life come free to us"_

* * *

 **Adeona Saveras, 16.**

 **District 6 female.**

"Now this is what I am talking about!" My district partner shouts as he admires all the nice things in the room.

"I mean, not that it's nothing new. My counters are nicer than this entire train." He chuckles.

I am going to throat punch him. I really am. I have been listening to him talk about how much money his family has and how everything in this train fails in comparison to his life back in district 6.

"Oh yeah, you know on the streets we have really nice counters. They are really great quality." I spit.

"Really? That's so-" he starts.

His head is so far up his own butt that he doesn't even realize that what I said makes absolutely no sense at all.

"Oh wait.. Did you say you lived on the streets?" he looks surprised like this is some foreign concept.

"Don't pity me, it really is a magical experience digging through trash cans and you know not a pile of diamonds for my food." I smirk.

"You have a really bad attitude, I hope you know that." Borja says as he shoves a forkful of the four course meal that was provided into his mouth.

I want to eat but the amount of food on that table is overwhelming and suddenly I don't feel so hungry.

"I guess living on the streets will do that to you." I tell him as I sit at the table as far away from him as possible.

"You really need to eat something, sweetie. I can practically see your ribs." Kiva says flatly while downing another glass of wine.

Geeze. Does everyone on this train have sticks up their asses or something?

"You're probably right." I smile at her and put a helping of food on my plate. This is so unusual, having food right in front of me and not having to steal it or charm some creepy man into giving it to me.

"This is good, but my servants probably could have made it better. They are from Russia and cook the best food." Borja says stuffing his face.

I had fully planned on being nice to my district partner in hopes of forming an ally but at this point in time, all I want to do is plunge a knife deeper and deeper into his neck every time he talks. I'll play my cards right with other people but Borja can go to hell. I would rather die first than be stuck with him. He has no idea what reality is.

"So let's get some basics out of the way." Kiva states. She looks genuinely bored.

"What are some strengths that you feel you are both bringing to the Arena?" She asks. She won't even make eye contact with us. It's like she thinks she is way too above us to even be here.

"Well, my life hasn't exactly been easy." Borja starts.

"Please. Give me a break." I roll my eyes. His voice actually pains me.

"I'm serious and if could leave bitch mode behind for one second and listen I will explain why." he sets down his fork and puts his napkin on his lap after patting his mouth with it.

I prepare myself for the load of crap that is about to come out of his mouth.

"I don't really like to talk about this too much, but my dad… he has these mood swings and when they get really bad, he hits me." his voice gets quiet and I almost believe him. Almost.

"Ha. Did he beat you with a bag of gold bricks prince Borja?" I taunt.

His face gets hard and he reached for the hem of his shirt and lifts it. Bruises cover his entire torso and they aren't just the bruises that are there for a few days, they are black. I feel a little but bad for him but in all honestly his entitled attitude is not excusable.

"You are a miserable person. Your presence saddens me." he says.

"Thank you for sharing Borja, and what do you think this experience will bring to the arena?" Kiva gives me a threatening look and then focusses on him.

"Well, I've had a lot of experience with violence so what I see in there won't necessarily be a surprise. I think it will come in handy." he says. His face looks reflective and I consider apologizing but decide against it. There is no way in hell that I want to be associated with someone like him.

"What about you Addie?" she asks. Being called that name brings me back to a dark place in my life and I can feel the rage building against her but I must be nice to one person on this train at least.

"I think I can go for long periods of time without food.. That could come in handy or I've fought people of before so I can definitely hold my own." I state and flip my long hair.

"Please, you're going to die first if the other tributes think of you like I do." he states.

"Do you want to say that to my face?" I yell at him.

"I mean, unless you have another face, which wouldn't be surprising by the way since so far you've proven to be a two faced bitch, I believe I just did." he says looking very pleased with his own comeback.

"That is quite enough." Kiva says standing up.

I walk over to Borja's chair and flip it. I put my foot down on his arm.

"Don't test me pretty boy, I'll hurt you worse than your dad ever did." I tell him coldly.

I almost feel bad for the guy. I think his obnoxious attitude is just trying to make up from lack of love and affection in his life, but this is the hunger games after all.

* * *

 **Hello :)**

 **So, I'm not really sure how I did on these. I'm sorry if they aren't good xD but I tried hard.**

 **Here is what I'm thinking so far:**

 **D1- I love both of them but I wasn't so sure about how they would interact so this is what happened. lol**

 **D2- This was really fun to write.**

 **D3- I didn't plan on making them get along but it just happened when I started writing. Thanks brain.**

 **D4- They just flow off of my fingers so naturally and they are so fun to write for.**

 **D5- This was weird but it's where it went lol I love these tributes a lot.** **D6- Fun. So fun.**

 **What did y'all think?**

 **Favorite partnership?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	16. Train Rides 7-12

" _Now in a world where innocence is quickly claimed_

 _It's so hard to stand your ground when you're so afraid_

 _No one reaches out a hand for you to hold_

 _When you look outside, look inside to your soul"_

* * *

 **Cecily Prane, 15.**

 **District 7 female.**

I've been quietly crying in front of the mirror for a few minutes. Looking at myself now, I just can't figure out how this happened. Life can change so quickly. I just want to be back with the wildflowers, drawing and writing. Life is so beautiful, it shouldn't be taken for granted like this. The capitol is such a messed up place and the reign that it has over Panem angers me beyond belief.

I look at my reflection in the mirror and take a deep breath.

 _Cecily, failure is not an option. If you believe that you can win this thing, you will win it. You can do this._

I try to bring all the positive thoughts that I can. If you think positive thoughts, positive things can happen.

I haven't talked to my district partner very much. I've mostly kept to myself but the silence in this room is going to drive me mad.

I walk out of the room and see Tannin talking to our escort. He looks terrified. His brown eyes are sad and big and he keeps wiping his nose on his sleeve. He is small and he looks way to young to even be here and it just genuinely makes me sad. I am so displeased with everything the Capitol stands for and seeing his sunken in and terrified face just reaffirms all of that.

"You have to stop crying. I mean, save it for your interview kid." Amber tries to be comforting but she is just coming off as insensitive.

Tannin wipes his eyes and takes a deep breath, steadying his hands on the table. He smiles and his wet eyes light up. This makes me smile.

"Hey there. Are you doing okay?" I ask sitting down in the chair next to him.

"Oh.. I.. I'm okay." he smiles at me.

"How are you?" he asks.

I don't know what it is about this kid but he is so happy even when he is sad and I can just tell he is a joy to be around. I need that in my life, especially now.

"I'm.. indifferent." I smile at him trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm just feeling so many things right now that I can't just pinpoint one." I say twirling my brown hair in between my fingers.

Amber comes and plops down between us.

"Perk up! This is something so exciting. A brilliant opportunity for both of you." she exclaims in a very inappropriate manner. I inch closer to Tannin. She freaks me out.

"Just think, one of you could be so respected, so sought after and so looked up too in just a short matter of time! It's fantastic!" she squeals.

"That's the thing Amber… ONE of us." I tell her matter of factly.

"Sweetheart, it's the hunger games. Not a party." she smirks

"Obviously some people view it as one…" I whisper

Amber gets up and gets a plate off of the table and then heads back into a different room. Tannin and I exchange glances before smiling.

"I love people, but she was on my nerves." Tannin looks as if he feels bad saying this but he shouldn't because he is right.

"We should probably eat something." I tell him smiling.

"Yeah, it looks so good. I've been staring at it for hours!" he chuckles.

We go to the table that is so perfectly lined with a maroon table cloth. It has long candles placed on top of gold candle holders in the middle of the table and the arrangement of flowers in the middle reminds me of my little clearing.

"This table is nicer than my whole house." I say giggling.

Tannin doesn't reply. I look over to ask him if he is okay and start laughing all over again. His mouth is so full of food already that he probably can't breathe let alone talk.

"Tannin! I know this is the hunger games but I don't think it's literal." I giggle.

It feels weird to joke about such a subject as the Hunger games but I know he is scared and I just want to ease his nerves, and mine too.

Tannin swallows the food that is in his mouth and his face grows somber.

"Do you think you will do well?" he asks me taking a sip of the water in front of him.

"I think so." I tell him

 _Positive thinking. Failure is not an option._

"How do you know though." he asks.

"I'm used to being outside and in the woods on my own, so if the arena is anything like that, I know I will do well. I know which plants are safe to eat and which ones aren't" I tell him.

"Oh. You're lucky. I think I might do well but that's because I like to think that I'm brave." he smiles.

"You are brave, I can tell."I tell him.

I don't know why I feel the need to protect this boy but I do.

"What do you think will be hard for you?" he asks looking down at his hands.

"Between you and me, I don't really have any experience with weapons." I tell him

"Well that's okay. You can always learn that." she smiles a bright and genuine smile.

"I think being away from my family is going to be the hardest part for me." he says in a sad tone.

"Well, maybe I can be your temporary family. I mean, if that is something you would want." I offer.

Tannin's eyes light up and he knocks his glass of sparkling water over. He runs across the table and hugs me.

"Thank you." he exclaims.

"Of course." I smile.

The playful light returns to his eyes.

"Let's play a game!" he shouts.

* * *

 _"But how do you wait for heaven_

 _And who has that much time_

 _And how do you keep your feet on the ground_

 _When you know, that you were born, you were born to fly"_

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17**

 **District 8 female.**

The hunger games. The freaking hunger games. I can just imagine the scene daddy is making right now and as bad as it sounds, it makes me giggle. He never did like it when things didn't go exactly his way. At least now he can't make all these huge life decisions for me. I just wish the circumstances weren't so extreme.

I'm scanning all the food options on the table when my eyes lock on a bowl with mashed potatoes piled high. I reach for the big silver spoon and put it directly in my mouth. Who needs plates in a situation like this.

"Yumm.." I say with my eyes closed. I hear giggles coming from across the table. I quickly shoot open my eyes and feel my face flush. Jake and Chantilly are giving me an expectant stare and . I can't help but start laughing too.

"Sorry, stress eating and mashed potatoes are the best thing on the planet. This is my saving grace right now. It's like they knew." I say tucking my brown hair behind my ears and setting the spoon down on the table.

"Don't be sorry, I thought it was quite humerous." Jake says.

"I'm glad my eating habits can entertain you." I say shooting a smile in his direction.

Being reaped is just another thing in my life that I don't have control over. It's actually quite frustrating but the one thing I will always have control over is my attitude towards things and I am not going to make this experience worse for myself by wallowing in self pity.

"Please, eat up. This will be the last time you have the opportunity to." Chantilly says.

"You get me." I smile at her and scoop mashed potatoes and jello onto my plate.

"You've been pretty quiet over there, Jake. Are you alright?" I ask him.

"Oh.. Yeah. I'm alright. I'm just angry. This isn't the life I had envisioned for myself at all." He moves the food on his plate around with his fork.

"Join the club." I tell him.

"Oh please, I can tell just from looking at you that you get everything you need handed to you on a silver platter." he says.

I don't think he means for it to come across as rude but it did and I am not going to stand for that because it goes against everything that I have been working for.

"Oh? I'm sorry. I forgot that we were best friends and you know everything about me." I fire back.

Daddy always got mad at me for my passive aggressive attitude in certain situations but I can't help it. I love people, but I won't put up with people walking all over me.

"I'm sorry.. I'm just out of it. The only thing that I know how to do is baseball and I just don't know how those skills will help me in the arena." he says.

"Are you joking?" I ask him giving him a quizzical look.

"If you play baseball, you are agile, fast and strong. Don't doubt yourself bud." I tell him.

He looks up from his plate and for the first time on this train ride, he smiles.

After we finish eating, Chantilly leads us over to an area with one long couch that sits across from two royal blue chairs. She sits on the couch so I assume a position on one of the chairs.

"What are your thoughts children? Would you like to train together or separately?" she asks scanning the room. She looks bored.

Jake's eyes light up.

"Well, I am used to being on a team. I work better with other people." he looks at me and awaits an answer.

I feel terrible, but I just don't want help. If there is any chance at all that I can even win this thing, I want to be able to say that I did it on my own. I've never been able to say that and for something as serious as the hunger games, it would feel amazing. Jake is a sweet boy and he seems very nice but this is something that I need to do for me.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I think that I would like to be trained on my own. It's really nothing personal." I tell him with a sweet smile hoping that he won't hate me.

"Oh. Don't worry about it, Kenna. I'm used to being left out." he looks down.

"Jake, I'm sorry." I say quieter.

He scoots over closer to me on the couch and pats my shoulder. I furrow my eyebrows and turn my head slowly towards him.

"Have you lost your ever loving mind… Jake…" I tell him.

He scoots all the way to the other side of the couch and sits on his hands. He looks confused and slightly terrified.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't know that you didn't like to be touched or whatever just happened." he stammers.

I try to keep a straight face for as long as possible but I feel really bad for the kid.

"I'm just kidding. Half. Don't touch me again." I giggle.

"I seriously don't see how can be laughing right now, Kenna." Jake says looking at the floor.

"Listen, Jake. They way I see it, I could be sitting here crying and screaming which trust me I have thought about doing or I can chose to be strong and not make this worse than it has to be. Of course it's a terrible situation but convincing yourself that you are already dead isn't going to get the job done." I tell him.

"Very good attitude, Kenna. Save that for your interview." Chantilly flips her hair.

"You're right, Kenna. Thanks." Jake says sitting up taller.

"I'm always right." I wink at him.

"So on to weapons, What do each of you want to train with?" She asks.

"Something that I can swing. I have good upper body strength so I can easily beat someone down." Jake says.

"See, you are going to do great." I smile at him to give him some confidence.

He returns the smile.

"Very well. Kenna?" She asks peeking out from behind glasses that are perched on her nose.

I get to make this choice, the first one of the games so I need to chose carefully.

"I'm good with poisons.. But I've never really used an actual weapon before. I don't even know If I would know where to start." I say.

"Then let's start easy. Knife throwing. Effective and at a distance." Chantilly says scribbling it down.

"Knife throwing… I can work with that."

* * *

 _We'll do it all_

 _Everything_

 _On our own_

 _We don't need_

 _Anything_

 _Or anyone_

 _If I lay here_

 _If I just lay here_

 _Would you lie with me and just forget the world_?

* * *

 **Olivia Sheetz, 18**

 **District 9 female.**

I am not leaving this room, until they make me. There is absolutely no way that I am going to associate with someone like Pency. Just looking at him scares me. He didn't even sound human when we was walking up to the stage.

Our escort doesn't even want to be around him for the fear of being cut. I feel bad for the guy. I really do but I am already in the freaking hunger games and I don't want to die before I even set foot in the arena.

There is a soft knock at the door. This will be the third time he has tried to get me to come out of my room.

"Olivia, I am not going to let him hurt you. However, there are some things that we need to discuss so please come out here and join us." Wesley says calmly through the door.

It's not that I am a baby and Pency terrifies me, it's more of the fact that I actually want a shot at winning the hunger games and having him as my district partner lowers those chances by almost half based solely on the fact that I don't think he would even care if he stabbed a knife into me on this train.

I unlock the door and slip out. My red hair is in a bun. I always do this when I am thinking, focused or stressed out and right now it's all of the above.

"Welcome, darling." Pency mutters. He has a sinister grin on his face so I decide to sit on the other end of the couch near Wesley.

"Erm.. hi Pency." I smile.

"So first things first, we need to discuss if you two will be training together or separately." Wesley scribbles notes down on a notepad and then bites down on the end of the pen while waiting for our responses.

I need to be smart about this, because this could either go two ways. I could ally with him and earn his trust. Maybe that would help me last longer in the games if other people think he is as scary as I do. Then again, it could make me a target or Pency could snap and cut me up into little pieces. I carefully analyze both options before answering.

"Seperately." we both say at the same time.

 _Thank God._

"Why is that Pency?" Wesley asks.

"I don't like people… alive." he chuckles.

"I just work better on my own." he says.

"What do you mean by work better?" Wesley asks with a slight look of concern on his face.

"I'm more efficient at drawing blood.. Ending lives… creating pain.. On my own." he says as his eyes gloss over.

"Little Red over here, would just slow me down." Pency leans back in the chair and crosses his arms.

I roll my eyes. His answer just reaffirms my thoughts that I wouldn't want to work with him anyways.

"Very… Very well then Mr. Skewer." Wesley scoots closer to my end of the couch.

"Okay, Olivia. Is that alright with you?" He turns to me.

"Yeah, absolutely." I say quietly not wanting to set off the psycho.

"What strengths do you have that you feel good about?" he inquires.

"Well, I have no experience with weapons.. Like none at all." I say.

Pency scoffs and I shoot him a look.

"However, I do feel like I can outsmart just about anyone in the games. I have a photographic memory which I think will really help me in the arena." I tell him.

"I can see that you have put a lot of thought into this, Olivia. Very good." he says.

"I mean, my life is on the line. So, yeah. I've been thinking about it quite a bit but also that's just how my brain works." I tell him smiling.

"Well, I guess that's settled." Wesley says as he gets up and exits the room.

"Wait, you're leav-" the door closes leaving me alone in a confined space with an actual sociopath.

"I'm not going to hurt you Olivia…. Yet." he smirks.

"Save it for the arena Pency." I fire back.

"Maybe your photographic memory will be a curse after all.. The images of me slicing the 23 other tributes in half and coming to search for you will haunt you for the rest of your short lived life." he says picking up a steak knife from the dining table.

"Or maybe, I'll have the pleasure of remembering you go for the rest of my long life. Put the knife down Pency, you don't scare me." I stand up and hold my ground.

 _He actually terrifies me._

"Bold, little red. Bold." he walks closer to me.

"Don't come any closer to me pency." I tell him.

 _This is it. This is where I die._

He walks right up to me and starts to extend his hand, I reach out and knee him in the stomach and flip him onto his back.

"Don't try me." I look down at him.

 _I didn't know I had that in me, go me._

* * *

 _I can't tell you what it really is_

 _I can only tell you what it feels like_

 _And right now there's a steel knife, in my windpipe_

 _I can't breathe, but I still fight, while I can fight_

 _As long as the wrong feels right, it's like I'm in flight_

 **Maret Wenling, 18.**

* * *

 **District 10 male.**

I can't believe I tried to lie my way of the reapings on national television. Way to go Maret, way to go. If I make it out, that is something that I don't think I will ever live down. Lying comes way too easily to me, especially in the heat of the moment but unfortunately it has been coming back to bite me in the ass lately.

I had fully planned on making my district partner like me and then going straight for her in the bloodbath. I had an elaborate story and everything already planned out in my head to take her down. But that was before I got in the train with her and saw how afraid she was.

I might be a brilliant liar and a good actor but I am not heartless. I might need to change that though, this is the hunger games after all.

This partnership hasn't been going well so far. Tessa spent the first few hours in the train crying for her grandma and saying how this wasn't fair. Of course it's not fair but there is nothing we can do about it so whining is pointless and it's just going to make you an easy target.

Luckily, once she composed her emotions, she is actually a pretty decent person to talk to.

"I promise that I'm not some spoiled whole thing has just been so crazy and scary." She says tucking her blonde hair behind her ears.

"I hate to break it to you.. But we are only on the train. We don't even know stress yet." I'm not trying to be discouraging or rude but it's true. This is only the beginning.

She rolls her eyes.

"I am talking about the whole thing, Maret. The war, the Dark days, everything. Not just the stupid train." she says, angered.

"Calm down, please." I tell her shocked.

"I'm sorry, I've spent so much time alone recently that I guess I've just forgotten how to interact with people."

I feel bad for her now. I know that life in district ten isn't easy. I've experienced it but at least I've always been good at weaseling my way into people's lives so I don't have to deal with it alone.

"Don't worry about it, although I don't feel like the Hunger Games is the place to go to learn how to interact with people, my friend." joke trying to lift her spirits. I manage to get a small smile out her.

"I lost everyone that I loved during the dark days.. Everyone besides my grandma and don't get me wrong, I love her a lot but old people are kind of exhausting." she giggles.

"I want to be surprised that you just talked trash on an old lady, but somehow I'm just not." I tell her. She gives me a look and then gets up and walks to the couch.

"I've never had a set and stone home either, Theresa." I tell her hoping that we can bond over the fact that both of us seem to have deep rooted issues.

"You can call me Tessa." She smiles.

"I have a home, my grandmother gives me a beautiful and lovely place to live but I still just can't help but feel that my life is supposed to be something more and that the life I was given just isn't fair. What girl wants to work on a farm." she says quietly.

"I know exactly what you mean, Tessa. I have done odd jobs for most of my life. Of course no one wants to do them but sometimes you just have to in order to survive." I remember what my girl friend told me when we talked about what was going to happen if either one of us got reaped. She made me promise to not care about a single soul in the arena and just focus on getting back to her.

It seems that I am gaining Tessa's trust so I could go through with my original plan and promise that I made or I could be a decent human being. She has done nothing wrong to me.

"You're right. I am really working on not being so dramatic but I think it just might be in my blood." she teases.

"It appears that way." I tell her.

"If I did learn one thing from working on the farm my whole life, it is that I can make it in tough situations. You haven't seen tough until you've had to help a cow give birth." she giggles.

"That sounds awful. I guess maybe I have underestimated you." I tell her.

"Thanks for listening Maret." She gets up and walks back to her room.

I can't go through with it. Tessa might be annoying as hell and she might be dramatic but she is a nice girl and I just couldn't live with myself. Sorry babe.

I sit in the chair and think about the sob story that I can come up with to lure an annoying and terrible tribute that I won't feel bad about to their death.

If it takes everything I have, I am getting back home to Courtney.

* * *

" _And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't_

 _So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road_

 _And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope_

 _It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat"_

* * *

 **Oswald Preston, 18.**

 **District 11 male.**

A broken foot and the hunger games. This is going to be a short lived experience for sure. Leave it to Oswald preston to make an ass out of himself right before the reapings.

There has got to be some alcohol in this train somewhere. I can't think straight without it as ironic as that sounds.

Ciara is talking to Poppy in the other room. She has been in a constant state of anger thus far on the train ride and it is making my need for alcohol that much stronger.

I walk around the boxed room and look for anything that I can find. A clear bottle sticking part way out of a velvet purple bag catches my eye. Crown. Perfect. I look around to make sure they aren't coming and then rush over to the marble topped counter. I slide on the small clear glasses towards me and fill it with the brown liquid. I am almost positive that this is not okay but I don't care. What is the worst thing they could do to me. Put me in the hunger games?

I throw back one and go back for another and another until I feel the familiar numbness starting to creep upon me. I walk over to the red couch and sit back with my eyes closed. I would rather feel nothing at all than deal with this. I hope our arena provides beer.

I am about to drift off into a crown induced nap when the screaming starts.

"Because this is ridiculous! I know I said I didn't want to follow in my sister's footsteps anymore but I did NOT mean to put me in the damn hunger games" Ciara Yells.

"You have every right to be angry Ciara, but it will dawn on you soon that this could be the best experience of your life. Just wait and see my dear."

Poppy is bending down to talk to Ciara but it seems like this is just making things worse. I don't think she has a clue on how to handle this situation.

"Yeah right, get out of my face right now you Capitolite!" she pushes past Poppy and beelines for the side of the room that I am sitting on.

There goes my peace and quiet.

"Yo, calm down, shrimp." I tell her.

I get the feeling that this was the wrong answer because her face turns red and her stride gets quicker. She walks over to where I am sitting and stands directly in front of me.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" she fumes.

"Did I stutter?" Alcohol takes my filter away completely and I turn into a giant asshole.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't going to talk to me like that." she lifts her knee to meet my groin and uses all the force she has to slap me across my face on the way down.

Laying on the ground looking up at this girl, I make a pact with myself to never mention her size again. It obviously doesn't keep her from kicking ass.

"Ciara! Save it please!" Poppy screams.

"Shove it, Poppy." She screams back and then retreats from the couch.

I decide that it would be in my best interest to get up off the floor and take my chances at befriending her so that her sending me to the floor won't become a common occurrence.

"Look, Ciara. I didn't mean to call you that. Respect for sending a dude to the floor though. It won't happen again. You have proved me wrong.

Her face lights up when I tell her that she has proved me wrong and it is like she becomes a totally different person. One minute I am with day and the other I am with night. She scares me.

"I knew I could, Ozzy." she says.

"Are you done being angry so that I can get to know my district partner?" I ask her.

"For now." She replies with a smirk.

"Cool, so what were you so angry about to begin with?" I push my luck hoping not to bring the tazmanian devil back out.

"I was already angry that my name had been called to begin with, and then people started laughing at me when I was walking up to the stage. I know it's because they don't think I can do it because of my size." she unleashes.

"Well in all fairness, you seem have just proved one of us wrong already. They will see." I tell her.

"Yes, they will. Just because I am little doesn't mean I am less of a person and I really don't take the insults lightly as your face and your groin can probably tell. Sorry about that by the way."

"Don't worry about it, I probably deserved it." I tell her.

I stand up to go look out of the window and stumble. I'm not sure if it is because of my foot or because of the crown but either way, I end up on the floor again.

"You know, you might want to stop that before this train stops. You are going to be a very easy target if you are on the floor all the time and you have already called me shrimp once so you're kind of on my shit list." she says crossing her arms.

Second mood swing, check. I can't tell if she is serious or not and it is driving me crazy. If I let her kill me my father would hate me more than he ever did when I was living.

"Yeah, I got that." I tell her getting back up off the floor.

"Obviously not." She says.

"Are you going to be a sarcastic bitch every time we are around each other or do you just need some time to adjust because I would really like to know now." I tell her getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"What did we learn today about calling me names, Ozzy?" she asks.

I scoff.

"You don't scare my, friend, you're like up to my knee." I shoot back.

She walks up to me and stomps on my already broken foot. It would have hurt way worse if it wasn't for the crown.

I get the feeling that I am going to need to watch my back with this one.

* * *

 _Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin' stars_

 _I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now_

 _Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin' stars_

* * *

 **Allan Eregan, 14.**

 **District 12 male.**

"This is so fucking stupid."

My district partner has been nervously pacing the length of the room for the past two hours cursing under her breath. It amazes me that some of the words that I am hearing are coming from her mouth.

Growing up, my sister was pretty strict and if I was caught even thinking about the words Hannale was saying, I would get my mouth washed out with soap.

"Are you okay?" I ask her

"Do I look like I am okay?" she snaps.

"Why are you freaking out?" I ask her as I admire the room that is nicer than anything that I will ever own in my entire life.

"That is none of your damn business." she snaps.

"I'm going to be sick." She grabs her stomach and runs to the restroom.

I can't say that I blame her for being so nervous that she is going to puke, I have been feeling the same way. However, at this point I think I am just too furious to move.

Of course I would get reaped. They pick the young and weak tributes from district 12 that have no shot at winning this thing so that our district can remain the most poor and unworthy district. Thinking about it makes me want to break something.

It is starting to get dark and the only thing keeping me from losing my cool is the fact that in a few short minutes I will be able to look up at the stars and pretend that I am somewhere far away from here.

I have always loved astronomy and everything that has to do with space and the stars but my family was always way too poor to go out and get me things to further my knowledge on them so I took what I could get.

Every night after it got dark, I would sneak out of our little house and go find a spot to lay and just spend hours and hours looking up at them. I managed to memorize what all the planets looked like and all the constellations are imprinted into my brain. It is the only thing that really calms me down. Each and every star has it's own place and they come together to form something beautiful. I wish life was like that, but it never will be.

Hannale comes out of the bathroom with wet eyes and an even more sour facial expression than before.

"Sorry that you are stuck with a young one." I tell her when she sits back down.

"How the hell do you know that?" she asks me wide eyed.

"I mean, I know how old I am. I'm sorry that your district partner isn't older. Maybe then they would know how to comfort you better." I tell her.

Hannale automatically loosens up when she hears my response and I can't help but wonder what is really going on.

"Oh.. I'm sorry. I tend to jump to conclusions. I'm working on it." she smiles at me for the first time and I start seeing her as normal instead of some angry, miserable person.

"You are doing fine, I'm not much of people person anyways so I am glad that you are keeping your distance." She says as she twirls her long curls in between her fingers.

"I'm not sure how I am supposed to take that." I tell her.

"Take it however you want too." she says flatly.

Well, it looks like this partnership won't be turning into an alliance but at least we don't hate each other.

We sit in the room in silence for way longer than I am comfortable with and when it finally gets dark I scoot one of the chairs from the dining table over to the window and plop down into it. I see Orion's belt first, the big dipper and then the little dipper. For a moment, I forget that I am headed into a terrible fate.

"Hannale, come here." I usher her over

She surprisingly pulls up a chair next to me and rest her head on her hands.

"What are you even looking at?" she asks me.

"Do you see that line of stars right there?" I ask her.

"We are moving too fast, but I think I can see what you are talking about." she replies

"That is Orion's belt." I tell her suddenly very proud of my astronomical knowledge.

"Who the hell is Orion?" she fires back and I can't help but laugh.

"He was a great warrior and a great hunter in greek mythology and those stars are supposed to be his belt." I tell her.

"Oh, that's cool. They are really bright." she says smiling.

"It consists of the three bright stars; Alnitak,Alnilam and Mintaka." I tell her.

"You are like an encyclopedia." she says.

"I just wanted to show you because I can tell something is bothering you. Be like Orion. Mighty and fearless." I encourage her.

Hannale reaches over and hugs me.

"Thank you, Allan. I needed that." she smiles but then her face changes into an empty and cold stare.

"If you tell anyone about the hug, I will fucking come for you in the bloodbath." She spits back at me.

There she is.

I don't know what to make of her and quite frankly, she terrifies me.

* * *

 **This is way over due and I apologize. :) Before I get to my thoughts on these tributes, I just wanted to say thank y'all so much for 100 reviews. That blows my freaking mind because I thought for sure people would stop reading this after like the first few chapters. I hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it.**

 **Okay thoughts:**

 **D7- I wasn't planning of forming an alliance between these two so early on but it just kind of happened when I started writing and I liked it a lot.**

 **D8- I love both of these tributes so much but I wasn't so sure how they would interact. Kenna just rolls off of my fingers but I have to think a little bit harder with Jake which is okay.**

 **D9- This was fun to write.**

 **D10- I struggled with these two more than I thought I would, I promise their next POV's will be better! Sorry!**

 **D11- I like writing Oswald a lot and their interaction was so much fun.**

 **D12- This was not supposed to happen. I had fully planned on making them absolutely hate one another but when I started writing I decided to make them neutral lol.**

 **So I have decided that since this is only the third hunger games, I am not going to do a parade so next we will go to training days.**

 **Thoughts?**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	17. Training: Day 1

_"No one else, no one else_  
 _Can speak the words on your lips_  
 _Drench yourself in words unspoken_  
 _Live your life with arms wide open_  
 _Today is where your book begins_  
 _The rest is still unwritten"_

* * *

 **Rhiannon Hughes,15**

 **District 4 female.**

Well, this isn't overwhelming at all. I don't really like being in big groups or even socializing with other people for that matter but here I am sitting in a circle with twenty three other people. Each district is sat next to their district partner is a bright red chair. We all have stickers with our district number placed right under our left shoulder. I scoot my chair closer to Riley and scan the faces of the other tributes. I wonder if they are scared.

The boy from nine is laughing and moving towards his district partner and she is desperately trying to move away. I make eye contact with her and shoot her a sympathetic smile. The girl from one is just sitting there observing everyone and listening carefully to what people are saying about themselves and the district seven partners are whispering to each other. The woman with the auburn hair in the middle of the circle is warning us to prepare our minds and our bodies for huge adjustments and it is stressing me out, to be honest.

After the woman finishes talking, she has us go around and introduce ourselves. Everyone is so different. After we finish, the tributes spread out and go to different stations. Riley and I are sitting back for a moment after punching and kicking each other over and over again. I make eye contact with the red headed girl from nine again and we both awkwardly smile. After a few minutes she finally get's up and walks over to us.

"Erm.. Hi. My name is Olivia." she says slightly pulling on the ends of her hair."

"Riley. This is my sister Rhiannon." he says tensing up.

I elbow him in his side because this is the time when we actually need to be friendly the most.

"Your district partner is certainly… interesting." I tell her scanning the people to find him

"You have no idea, that train ride was a nightmare." she giggles.

She seems like the type of person that I would get along with and it brings me a weird sense of comfort knowing that despite the fact that we are in the hunger games, some of us are still normal.

"These people are so intimidating." she says looking down.

As she looks down a board shatters and a baton comes flying at Olivias back. The boy from eight looks shocked and absolutely embarrassed. He comes running over to where we are sitting.

"I am SO sorry." he says

"Dude, chill. We aren't in the arena yet, it's too early to be taking people's heads off." Riley teases.

"I'm ….. I'm sorry. I didn't even know that I could do that." he says looking ashamed.

"I'm just kidding dude, that was awesome. That wooden board didn't stand a chance." Riley says and his eyes light up.

"Really?" he asks.

"Really. Just give me chance to actually make it to the arena. " Olivia says rubbing her back.

"I'm Riley, this is my sister Rhiannon and this is Olivia." He says extending his arms out in a dramatic manner.

"I'm Jake. Jake Diaz." he says.

"Nice to meet you, Jake. I mean, not as nice as it could be considering the situation we are in.. but you know what I mean." Riley says and I giggle.

"Yeah. This is pretty freaking stupid." he says twirling the baton in his hands.

"Riley, I need to talk to you." I pull him aside by his sleeve.

"What's up Rhi?" he asks.

"Are you going to tell people that you're... you know." I ask him

"Slowly wasting away in cancers grasp?" he laughs.

"Not funny, Riley."

"Of course not, Rhiannon. That would make me an easy target. That stays between me and you. I'm fine so no one can even tell." he says seriously now.

I nod my head and we walk back over to where Olivia and Jake are sitting.

"Everything okay?" Olivia smiles.

"Perfect." I reply.

"We were just wondering if until more people start falling out of the games if you two would want to stick together... form an alliance of sorts." Riley says and I look at him. He gives me a knowing look so I smile.

"I was thinking that you'd never ask." Olivia says.

"I'm in." says Jake.

I never thought that I would be making friends as it is, especially not in the hunger games.

How ironic.

* * *

 _Hey dad, look at me_

 _Think back and talk to me_

 _Did I grow up according to the plan ?_

 _And do you think I'm wasting my time doing things I wanna do?_

 _But it hurts when you disapprove all along._

* * *

 **Bryce Constantin, 17**

 **District 5 male.**

If someone would have told me three weeks ago that I would be training in sword fighting, I would have laughed in their face. Somehow, it's hard for me to believe that sword fighting would be part of the perfect plan my parents had for my life. They would be appalled even.

It's funny how even though I am not back home anymore, my brain is still wired to be proper and act as they told me I should. This is the hunger games, not a gala.

I swing the sword back and use every ounce of upper body strength that I have to plunge it into the object in front of me. The plush person falls to the ground and feathers fly out of it.

I throw the shiny silver sword down and take my shirt off to wipe the sweat from my brow. Back at home my dad but was very set on me staying fit so that I would look good in suits at his fancy parties but that was still exhausting.

I scan the room to see if their are any other things that might be help my chances of surviving.

The girl from three is screaming at her district partner but he is just laughing, the boy from nine is staring at knives and other sharp objects and the girl from one is shooting arrows at targets and doing a pretty good job of it. I make note in the back of my head to stay away from her.

My eyes set on the girl from eight. She is stunning. Her long brown hair is hanging in a loose braid and her big eyes are bright but frustrated. She is attempting to throw knives at a target that is pinned on the wall but they keep falling short. The trainer doesn't seem to be doing much to help her so I decide to take matters into my own hands.

"You know, you are actually supposed to hit the target, right?" I walk up behind her.

She shoots me a snarky smile and rolls her eyes.

"I obviously know that, it's just not freaking happening." she says in a defeated voice.

"Here, let me show you." I say reaching for the knives.

"No! I don't need help." she says pulling away.

"Woah, I was just trying to help you." I say putting my hands up.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I just want to learn this on my own." she says with a sweet smile.

"Fine. Throw it." I urge her.

She steps back and takes a deep breath she steps back and brings her arm back and then shoots the knife forward. It goes farther this time but it still doesn't hit the target. A piece of her brown hair falls in her face and she blows it out of the way with an exasperated sigh.

I suppress a laugh because I really do feel bad for her as adorable as this might be.

"Let me help you." I say.

She looks at me up and down and crosses her arms.

"I don't even know your name, what makes you think that I would let you help me." she says.

"Oh! I'm Bryce." I smile at her.

"...Kenna." She says hesitantly.

"Well, Kenna. You should let me help you, you are way too pretty to die so early on."

"Are you flirting with me…." her eyes get wide and she looks like she gets uncomfortable.

I feel my face flush. I really wasn't expecting her to call me out.

"Um, no. I just want to help you…" I tell her awkwardly. My charm usually works wonders but she seems like she is going to be a tough one to crack.

"Fine." she rolls her eyes and hands me the knife she had been holding.

"Here, stand like this." I come up behind her and adjust her into a better stance.

"Get a room. Honestly, you are making me want to throw up and if I do, I'm aiming it at you." the girl from district three shouts. Kenna tenses under my grip.

"Don't listen to her." I tell her.

"Now focus and relax. Move your arm back at an angle and shortly extend your arm and let it loose." I step back and let her try it.

The knife doesn't hit the bulls eye but it gets pretty close.

Her face brightens and she smiles at me.

"Tell me Bryce, how you have experience with knife throwing.. Should I be afraid." she asks setting the knives down.

"I was just observing some of the others and thought that you deserved a chance." I wink at her.

"Whatever." she giggles.

"Is there any other secret talents that you have that I should know about?" she asks tightening her braid.

"If you were asking my parents, they would tell you everything. If you're asking me, just getting strangers to talk to me about my talents." I reply smugly.

Kenna rolls her beautiful green eyes.

"Is your dad overbearing too?" she asks.

"You have no idea." I reply.

"Sorry to hear that." she says sweetly.

"Listen, Kenna. I can tell that you are a force to be reckoned with and I know you don't want help but I think that if we stick together we could really make it far." I tell her.

She looks skeptical.

"Are you flirting with me, so that I will stick with you in the games?" she smirks.

"Is it working?" I ask.

"Fine. But only you. I don't want help as it is." she says turning away.

"Even better." I smile as I follow her to the boxing section.

* * *

 _I'm bringing sassy back,_

 _And everything that you thought you can't forget_

 _'cause y'all know nothing but my name._

 _And I don't wanna hear_

 _about people I don't know._

 _Not you, not him, not her, no._

* * *

 **Cierra Hart, 18**

 **District 3 female.**

I think it's pretty obvious that I am the best one here. All of these other children are so pathetic and it's making my heart hurt that I even have to associate with them.

I know that I opened up to Noah on the train, but that wasn't supposed to happen and it won't happen again for the remainder of the games. These peasants need to think that I am nothing but strong and fierce. I mean, I obviously am but keeping up with it can get exhausting.

"If you rub the sticks together vertically, you have a better chance of creating a spark." says the trainer. He has short black hair and each of his eyes are different colors. He would be semi attractive if he wasn't so scrawny.

"Did you hear that, Noah?" I wink at him and then laugh at my own hilarity.

"Was that a gay joke?" he scowls.

"Watch it princess, I'll out you so fast and then no one will take you seriously." he spits back.

He wouldn't dare. That would be the last thing he ever did.

"Like this, guys." Says the girl from eleven as a huge spark erupts from her hands.

"Woah." me and Noah say at the same time.

At this point, I am thoroughly annoyed. I have been trying to make that happen for a good thirty minutes and nothing has happened. She is tiny. How old is she? Like 3? I guess that doesn't matter. Midget has talent. We need to keep her around.

"Noah, come here." I say as I tug on sleeve and pull him away.

"Cierra, we have to focus. You are paying to much attention to other people." he says annoyed.

"Listen lover boy, we need to make her want to stick with us. She is good. I've been watching her and even though she looks like a fetus, she has potential. Did you see her blow up and kick her district partner in the face? It was the highlight of my freaking life." I say giggling.

"Are you sure, Cierra? We have to be careful." he says looking at the girl from district 11.

"Just trust me, you idiot." I tell him.

He rolls his eyes and slaps my arm playfully.

"So, we like you. And we know what we are doing. So if you are looking for an alliance, we are your best option." I lay it out flat for her.

"Umm. I mean, I don't know. I wasn't really planning on-" she starts.

"You're like 6. Just join." I urge her annoyed.

"Watch yourself. I'm eighteen just like you and you know that." she says getting angry.

"I'm just joking. Geeze, calm down." I tell her.

"What she means to say is that you are talented and we like that, we think we would be able to help each other out a good deal." Noah smiles at her.

Pansy.

"I guess. But only if she can join too." Ciara says pointing to the girl from one.

"This is not a freaking old people's group at the YMCA." I tell her annoyed.

"Cierra. Enough." Noah says seemingly growing more and more frustrated.

"Oh.. It's okay." the girl from one says.

She is stunning. Her long blonde hair makes me hate my life. I was going to try and avoid her this whole game unless I was stabbing something into her pretty face. It makes me mad that one person can have that many positive things about their freaking face. However, I did see her shooting arrows and she didn't miss once. Beginners luck.

"You are turning down an opportunity to join the dream team?" I ask her.

"I just don't know.. I was planning on joining an alliance." She says sweetly.

Her niceness makes me want to kick a puppy.

"Fine, suit yourself blondie. Exit the circle then" I usher her out.

"Wait! I changed my mind." she smiles as fire erupts from her hands too."

Of course. Of freaking course. At least she knows what she is doing.

Every group needs a nice witch and a fiery bitch.

* * *

 _We don't have time left to regret_

 _Hold on_

 _It will take more than common sense_

 _Hold on_

 _So Stop your wonderin', take a stand_

 _Hold on_

 _Cause there's more to life than just to live_

 _Hold on._

* * *

 **Tannin Jimenez, 14**

 **District 7 male.**

Cecily and I were finally able to take a break from the crowd at the knife throwing section, there isn't a single person at this station anymore and it's exactly what I needed. It's only the first day of training and I am tired. I won't let anyone know that though.

Back at home, my momma warned me that if I ever got reaped, people were going to target me because of my size. She told me not to show people my

"Tannin, You have to throw it harder." Cecily giggles.

I'm so happy that she decided to stick with me, she reminds me of my sister and makes me feel like this situation isn't as bad as it really is.

I throw the knife and it goes right into the bulls eye for the second time in the past twenty minutes.

I have never dealt with weapons before so that fact that I am doing okay at something makes me happier than a kid in a candy store.

"This is getting too easy now, let's go learn something harder than could actually help us." I tell her setting the knives down.

"Don't get too cocky." she warns as we walk towards the sword section.

There are two three other tributes over there practicing with the swords as well.

The curly red headed boy from district 2 is swinging a sword around in every direction with no regard whatsoever for what is around him, the girl with golden blonde hair tied into a perfect bun on top of her head is sword fighting with the boy from twelve.

Cecily and I walk over and begin to swing the swords at each other playfully.

"This so much harder than it looks!" the boy from 2 says.

"You are holding it completely, wrong. Move your hands down to the very bottom and loosen your shoulders." the girl from five tells him.

"Hi. My name is Erika." she smiles.

"Tannin, and this is my friend Cecily." I smile back at her and a take a deep breath.

"Jayson!" The boy from 2 smiles.

Maybe sword fighting isn't my strong suit but it's still really fun.

"How old are you all?" Erika says sitting down on the ground and crossing her legs.

"Fourteen." says the boy from 2.

"Me too." says the boy from twelve.

"I'm also fourteen and my friend Cecily is fifteen." I reply.

"Oh.. I'm thirteen. I think that I'm the youngest one here." she replies looking down.

"We're all young." Allan says.

"Hey, just because we are younger than the other tributes, doesn't mean we have any less of a chance than they do." Cecily smiles. I love her positive attitude. It makes it that much easier to keep mine.

My family back at home never failed to let me know that I was cared about and loved and I think that when I told Cecily that she made it personal goal to make me feel that way here too. Cecily is scared. I know she is, but she is strong and I need her in there.

"You're right!" Erika says standing up and pumping her fist into the air.

The boy from nine walks over to the section we are at and laughs.

"The younger, the better. Much easier... to take down." He keeps walking.

"Is he even a human?" I joke.

The rest of the people around me laugh.

"Maybe if we all stick together, we can take down people like him" Allan says.

"I think that is a very wise idea, at least for right now." Cecily says.

* * *

 **Hai. :)  
**

 **This was fun. I enjoyed writing the tributes interacting with eachother. However, I did struggle a little bit but please be nice because I am still new to this. I am really looking forward to developing personalities more in the interviews and the private sessions.**

 **Here is the current alliance situation:**

 **I just like them and thought they would make a good team: Rhiannon/ Riley/ Olivia/ Jake.**

 **Bryce wants to climb the Rockwall?: Bryce/Kenna.**

 **The dream team according to Cierra? : Adaira/ Ciara/ Cierra/Noah.**

 **Small but mighty: Cecily/ Tannin/ Allan/ Jayson/ Erika.**

 **Hopefully, I will have the second part up either tonight or tomorrow.**

 **Love you guys!**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	18. Training day 2

_I wake up every evening_

 _With a big smile on my face_

 _And it never feels out of place_

 _And you're still probably working_

 _At a nine to five pace_

 _I wonder how bad that tastes._

* * *

 **Borja Adventadore,16.**

 **District 6 male.**

This is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that I am even in the same room as these twenty three other tributes is humorous to me. Half of them don't even look like they have the slightest clue of what they are doing and that information brings a strange sense of peace over me. This might be easier than I thought.

I've been at the sword section for the past 25 minutes just letting everything out. Every time I swing the piece of shiny silver metal, I picture my father on the other side of it. Every hit, kick, punch and cruel insult that plays back in my head just adds more fuel to my fire.

A lof of these kids have never seen violence in their entire lives and I am going to use that to my advantage. Part of me, doesn't want to be even remotely similar to my father and cause any of these people any harm. I would never let any of them know that is something i'm struggling with though. It is the hunger games after all.

"This room is the biggest room that I have ever been in in my entire life." says the girl from ten spinning around and taking everything in.

"Please, this is the size of one of my living rooms back at home." I tell her.

She scoffs.

"Well excuse me, not everyone has money growing on trees in their backyards." She says with a scoff.

"Wait, you don't?" I tease.

She rolls her eyes.

"I've just never seen anything like this before, she says. I was raised on a farm and well, this is the farthest thing from that lifestyle." she states in awe.

"This is nothing. In fact, it's unimpressive even. Back at home, we had a different room for every activity and they were all better than this. Especially my closet." I tell her.

Adeona lets out an annoyed laugh.

"Oh, yeah. Please tell us more about your perfect little life in district six and your fantastic counters. I didn't get enough of that on the train. Please continue, bitch boy." Adeona says not looking amused at all.

"Excuse me?" I say walking up to her.

"Did I stutter?" she asks getting in my face.

"I don't know what crawled up your ass and died Adeona, but whatever it is needs to crawl out. You are a miserable human being." I spit back at her.

"I bet you'd like to find out." she says smugly.

"Please. Tell me more about how living on the streets took your heart away. I'm intrigued on what happened to you that made you such a bitch." I say staring her down.

"Watch your back, Borja. I don't like you." she says flipping her hair and walking away.

"Wow, girls like her make me so happy that I don't have any friends." the girl from ten giggles.

"Seriously, I think I got the worst district partner out there." I say slightly flustered by the previous encounter.

"You don't have to ally with her just because she is your district partner. Don't let her get to your head." Tessa says.

"Trust me, I would rather gouge my eyeballs out with a fork." I tell her matter of factly.

"Well maybe if you stopped talking about your material possessions so much, people would like you more." She says with a genuine smile.

"You're probably right." I grumble.

"Well, do you have any plans on forming an alliance?" She asks looking down.

"If I do, it would have to be with someone who was skilled in at least one thing. I can't be holding weight for two people in there." I tell her.

She definitely wants something.

"I am strong. If one good thing came from working on the farm, that would be it." She tells me lifting up her sleeve to reveal tiny biceps.

"Wow, people better watch out. The guns are out." I laugh.

"I'm serious. I have the upper body strength of a 35 year old bodybuilder." she giggles and flexes.

"For some reason, I don't doubt that. You also seem a little bit crazy which could help is in the long run." I tease her.

"So are we doing this?" She asks smiling.

"I guess we are." I reply.

"On one condition." She says raising one eyebrow.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"I don't have to hear about your expensive countertops ever again." She winks.

"I really do need to tone that down, don't I?" I ask.

* * *

 _I'll hold your body in my hands be as gentle as I can_

 _And now your scan on my unmade plans_

 _Small bump, in four months you're brought to life._

 _I'll hold you tightly, I'll give you nothing but truth_

 _If you're not inside me, I'll put my future in you._

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16.**

 **District 12 female.**

"Hannale Croaw. We have pulled you aside today because we noticed something unusual with your test results." A man with white blonde hair and bright blue eyes wearing a white lab coat stares down at me.

"My name is Dr. Briggs and I'm here to help you." He gives me the creepiest smile and it makes me uncomfortable. I shift in the big chair that they have me seated in and the annoying paper that every doctor's office has crunches beneath me.

Great. I knew this was going to happen. They are going to kill me right now. Just fucking great.

"Is there any way that you could be pregnant?" The man asks.

"Well what does the test say?" I ask him growing frustrated.

This whole situation is just so fucked up. I should have told Asher or Owen as soon as I found out but I don't like admitting that I need help or that I am scared and right now I am both of those things.

"The test results affirmed that you are infact pregnant." he says peering out over his glasses and looking down at the clipboard.

My face gets hot and my eyes start to water. I muster up all the strength that I have inside and will myself not to cry but it doesn't work. I stare up at the flourescent lights in hopes that it will stop the tears but it doesn't and tears slowly start streaming down my face.

"So.. What is going to happen to me.. What is going to happen to my baby?" I ask utterly defeated.

"We can't let you enter the arena while pregnant Hannale, but unfortunately we can't let you go home either." Dr. Briggs says looking slightly unsettled.

"So what the hell does this mean?" I ask confused.

I hate it when people beat around the bush as it is, but when we are discussing something as serious as another human life growing in my uterus right now, the last thing you should probably do is leave details out. Pregnancy hormones are not something that old men have any idea about and I doubt that this one wants to find out.

"What is going to happen, is that we are going to admit you into a room for the rest of today and throughout the night. We are going to give you a shot in your spine and essentially what that is going to do is send a chemical into your bloodstream that will speed along the development and growth of your baby quite rapidly. You should have a healthy baby by the end of the night." The doctor says as if it's not even a big deal.

"You are telling me that 7 months of development is going to happen in twelve hours?" I ask skeptically.

"Exactly. You will then be able to enter the arena." he smiles at me as if that is something to be happy about.

"Follow me." He leads to a room with a hospital bed that is covered in pale blue sheets. The fluorescent lights in the room are blinding against the plain white walls. A nurse wearing pink scrubs walks into the room and hands me a paper gown to put on. She closes the curtain and lets me change. When I am finished, she pulls the curtain back and smiles.

"My name is Rozzalyn. I will be your nurse while you are here. If you will just flip over for one second this will just hurt for a few minutes." She reveals a needle that is about six inches long and I cringe. She lifts the back of my gown, sterilizes the area and injects the bright purple liquid into my back.

"Holy shit! Stop! That hurts like hell!" I yell.

I can feel the chemicals moving in my body and it is the strangest sensation that I have ever felt. I feel tears threatening to leave my eyes again so I just close them.

This feeling is strange, it's almost like it isn't even real life. Every few hours I look down and my stomach is bigger. I can hear the heartbeat on the monitor and it is the only thing keeping me sane.

I fall asleep and when I wake up I am informed that 6 hours have gone by. There is pressure in my stomach and when I look down I let out a scream.

"What the fuck! I didn't even have a belly this morning and now it looks like I swallowed a watermelon!" I shout.

Rozzalyn laughs as she writes something down on her clipboard.

"You should be ready to deliver her in the next few hours. That drug isn't a joke." she says.

"It's a girl?" my heart drops as I process that information. A sad and empty look spreads across Rozzalyns face as she scurries out of the room.

The next three hours are spent in pain, my stomach is huge and the discomfort that I feel in my southern region is only growing. I've watched shows and movies about childbirth but I never imagined it would actually hurt this bad.

"Get her out!" I cry.

A large group of people enter the room wearing masks, gloves, surgical caps and the machines are going crazy. This is so damn stressful.

"It's time." Rozzalyn comes up to my bedside and offers her hand to me. I don't like accepting help or admitting weakness but something makes me reach out and squeeze onto her hand for dear life.

"She's coming… keep it u-" the last thing I hear before I black out is the Dr.'s voice urging me to keep going.

When I wake up, no one else is in the room. I feel funny. I push the red button that is on my bedside that is supposed to be for emergencies only but this is a fucking emergency. You can't just grow a baby in twelve hours, take her out and then leave someone alone in a room.

Rozzalyn comes rushing in.

"Are you okay?" she asks with a concerned look on her face.

"My baby.. Where is she?" I ask.

"She's fine. Do you want to see her?" She asks me.

"I don't know.. I can't keep her so that might make it harder."

"You don't have to hold her, but I think it's important that you see her. She needs a name.." she says sweetly.

She helps me out of bed and into a wheelchair.. She leads me to a window and when I peer inside, I see the sweetest little pink bundle. My heart aches. I put my hand up against the window. .

"Name?" She asks me as I still try to process what has just occurred.

I stare at the perfection in front of me. "Ashley. Part of Asher and part of me.." I say as my eyes get hot.

"You need to make it out, she needs you." Rozzalyn says

"Until then, we will notify the father but she will placed in a loving home in the Capitol."

"Just fucking great. He won't believe you." I whisper.

I walk back towards my bed. It hurts too much to look at her. Instead of making allies and friends, I was delivering a baby. I just hope it's all worth it.

* * *

 _Whatever it is that you do you should do_

 _You should do it wit ya head held high_

 _So when you're doin your thing it's cuz you wanna_

 _And they never can ask you why_

* * *

 **Claudio Sterling,18**

 **District 1 male.**

"Don't you just love the feeling you get when you don't know what is going to happen? Like, there are so many different possibilities and the outcomes are really endless." The girl from two says very happily.

"You mean like you don't know if a knife is going to hit you in your neck or your face?" I joke putting on a fake smile.

I'm not stupid. If I had the choice I wouldn't talk to anyone in here. I would just do what I had to do to survive and get out but realistically, I know that won't be the case. Luckily, the people that I am surrounded by are so dense that they will never be able to tell when I am being sincere or when I am being fake and I fully plan on using that to my advantage.

"That is exactly what I mean." She says giggling.

"You are psychotic… I like it." I tell her.

I liked the unpredictable as well, there is a certain rush that comes with playing people and never knowing how they are going to react but I'm not sure if I would go as far as liking the feeling of knives being thrown at my face. The most adrenaline that I have felt was running from the peace keepers after I got myself in a situation that could have easily ended badly. Adrenaline is great but in doses.

This girl is crazy but she might be good to keep around.

"Watch this." she closes her eyes and spins in a circle and lets the knife fly from her fingers.

"Woah! Calm down you freak." I tell her taking the remaining knives from her fingers.

"Have you always been this crazy or is it just an act to try and scare people?" I ask trying to read her.

"You will never know." she winks and flips her golden blonde hair over her shoulder.

"I was known for being crazy back in my district. No one would dare mess with me." I lie.

Her eyes get wide.

"I mean, I guess no one was scared of me it was more they were scared for me. Everyone thought that I was going to get myself killed." she says trying to steal the knife back from me.

"Well, they certainly must be worried now." I fake smile at her.

I don't feel bad for lying to the girl. I need at least one ally and I will do what I have to do to get one. She seems strong, fearless and tough and that is the type of person that I want to be around in a situation like the hunger games. I would ally with one of the younger tributes but I don't want to take the chance that I will get attached to them. I mean, I look at the girl from five and all I see is Riya and it would break my heart to even think about her dying. So here we are dealing with this nut case from two.

"They might be, but they shouldn't be. I can handle my own." she says snatching the knife from my fingers.

I think back to one day when Riya was getting bullied in front of the bakery. I was furious. The girl had her cornered and was about to punch her in her face when I rounded the corner. I grabbed her elbow and managed to stop the punch in action. I grabbed Riyas hand and led her back to her house. She didn't have friends and it makes my blood boil that other children pick on her for it instead of trying to help.

I don't want to care about people so I figure allying with someone as annoying but strong as this girl will be perfect.

"For some reason, I don't doubt that." I tell her.

"Honestly, this is getting boring. Let's move to another section." the trainer looks slightly offended as she smoothes her red hair and crosses her arms.

"Are you asking me to train with you? I ask hopefully.

My plan could actually work.

"I guess I am. I should tell you my name then I suppose." She says.

"Are you going to tell me or are you just going to stand there?" I ask her only half joking.

"Hadley. Hadley Marin." she sticks out her hand.

"Claudio. That's all you need to know." I shake her hand.

"Oh please. It's not like you are that mysterious." she giggles, takes my arm in hers and leads me to a survival station.

I almost regret this decision instantaneously.

"You will need to know how to use the resources that you are surrounded by. It is essential so that you don't die of natural causes while you are in there. It's not fun if you all die on your own." the trainer jokes.

"You are insinuating that this is fun at all." The girl from eight plays with her braid and rolls her eyes.

She has a point. This is completely screwed.

"Lighten up, it was obviously a joke. A bad one but still a joke." the girl from three shoots back at the girl from eight. They stare each other down before getting back to listening to the trainer.

Hadley and I make eye contact and give each other a look. These two are going to have issues and we are going to enjoy it.

We sit there and listen to survival tips and suggestions for a while and by the time the trainer finally stops speaking, I am exhausted.

"Don't you think that it's at least a little bit exciting." she asks me sipping water.

"In what sense, you sociopath?" I ask her.

"Like you don't know what you are walking into or what you are going to get. You never know when it's going to be your moment to die or when it's going to be your moment to win. It's low key exciting." she stares me down as if she is trying to read me.

"I mean, I guess." I lie.

"Stop being so cold. We are going to stick together and you are going to learn to love me." she sticks out her tongue at me.

We'll see about that. What did I get myself into.

* * *

 _I can fake a smile_  
 _I can force a laugh_  
 _I can dance and play the part_  
 _If that's what you ask_  
 _Give you all I am_

 _I can do it_

* * *

 **Adaira Levonte, 18**

 **District 1 female.**

"Pay attention blondie. This is what we are going to do. We need a game plan." Cierra says sternly throwing a look of pure annoyance my way.

"I'm sorry. I am paying attention now." I smile at her to avoid any conflict but I don't trust her completely. She seems to like me though and I definitely don't want any enemies this early on so I will just keep myself at an arms length from her.

I just now feel like I am getting my joy back after everything that happened so It just really sucks that I'm here. I am going to give it everything that I have but it is going to be really hard for me. I don't trust people and that could either really hurt me or really help me.

Cierra and Noah are arguing in the corner so I decide to walk around just see what all the stations are about. If I am going to give it my all, I need to be well informed in every aspect of the game. No matter how many times Cierra calls me blondie, I think that I can outsmart her in every one of these situations. I don't particularly trust her or anyone else in the group just yet but I would be naïve to think that this early on, I could do it all on my own. The people in this group seem to be slightly feared so I will stick with it.

"Hey, your name is Adaira, right?" shouts a boy with dark skin and dark hair.

I am very alarmed for a few minutes until I remember that I introduced myself earlier. I have got to stop being so on edge.

"Yes. Yours is Maret, right?" I smile weakly at him.

"Thought so and yes, Maret is the name. Come over here." he motions for me to come join him at the bow and arrow section. I look around to make sure none of the other people in my group are watching me and go over to him.

"I saw you over here earlier, and you were really good. Do you have some sort of weird training in it?" He asks me raising his eyebrow.

I laugh.

"No, I've actually never touched one of them in my life. Beginners luck, I guess." I smile.

"I can't even figure out which part to hold onto to be quite frank with you." he looks me up and down and then gives me an expectant stare.

"Well, now I know your weaknesses." I only slightly tease.

"Oh please. You won't do anything. I can read you like an open book." he smirks.

"I wouldn't be so sure." I snatch the bow and arrow from his hands and take my stance. I pull my arm back and let loose. The arrow soars through the air and directly hits the target. I turn around and put my hand on my hip and raise my eyebrows.

"So.. Um. Do you have an alliance?" he laughs but I can tell that he is serious.

I turn and point to Cierra, Noah, and Ciara. They are laughing about something. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I can't bring myself to trust Cierra completely but I will do what I have to do.

"Those three." I say.

"Oh.." he says looking down.

"I don't need an alliance anyways. I was just curious." he says defensively.

"Judging from the way you held the bow, I would beg to differ." I tease him.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not joining up with the Hannibal lector over there." he says looking wide eyed at Pency.

I can't help but laugh.

"You know, this early on I think it's important to have a lot of people. You can join us if you would like." I say hesitantly.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I start second guessing myself. Being nice and trying to please people while not trusting anyone is going to get me killed.

"Really?" his eyes light up.

"Uhm, yes." I force a smile.

"Are you sure that princess over there is going to be okay with that?" he asks shooting a glance over to Cierra.

"Probably not, but she will deal." I say motioning for him to follow me.

We walk over to the rest of the group. Cierra crosses her arms. Ciara looks confused and Noah smiles at Maret. Noah and I will get along just fine.

"This is Maret, he is going to join our alliance. The bigger we are the better." I say making sure to make direct eye contact with Cierra.

"Who put you in charge, blondie?" Cierra asks with a huge attitude.

"The same person that obviously put you in charge. Don't be rude." I pull Maret closer.

"Maret." he introduces himself.

Noah reaches out and takes Marets hand in a firm grip.

"Welcome aboard the crazy train." he jokes looking at Cierra.

She rolls her eyes and continues talking.

This alliance could be the best decision of my life, or the worst.

But something is telling me that there is no in between.

I throw my blonde hair up into a messy bun and head to the boxing section.

I can do this.

* * *

 **Hey there.**

 **Sorry that this took me so long to get up, it won't take that long again. I am working on the private sessions as we speak. :)**

 **So sorry that this chapter was a little bit all over the place but I needed to get Hannale's POV out because I couldn't justify sending a pregnant teen into the arena. :P**

 **Here are the final alliances:**

 **Crazy Train: Maret, Adaira, Cierra, Ciara and Noah.**

 **Small but mighty: Allan, Cecily, Tannin, Jayson and Erika.**

 **Constantly climbing the rockwall (get it Bryce Consantin and Kenna Rockwall? hahaha Okay I'll stop.) Kenna and Bryce.**

 **I don't know how this will end: Claudio and Hadley.**

 **Don't underestimate them: Jake, Rhiannon, Riley and Olivia.**

 **Opposites attract: Borja and Tessa.**

 **On their own:**

 **Hannale**

 **Oswald**

 **Pency**

 **Adeona.**

 **What do y'all think?**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	19. Private Sessions

_Screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you -_

 _And you still won't hear me_

 _Don't want your hand this time - I'll save myself._

 _Maybe I'll wake up for once_

 _Not tormented daily defeated by you_

 _Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom_

 _I'm dying again._

* * *

 **Pency Skewer, 18.**

 **District 9 male.**

What could I possibly show the game makers that wouldn't get me killed at that very moment. I can't go in there and rip all of their throats or hearts out, could I?

A bloody vision ensues in my brain. There is blood on the walls, ceilings and floor and all of the capitolites are on the ground gasping for air and I am just standing there covered in blood chucking at the misfortune of these peasants.

"Does your face always look like that?" the little red headed shrimp from district two asks me while staring at me wide eyed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snarl and stand up straighter so that I am towering over him.

He starts to back away and that gives me a sense of joy. Glad to know that i'm not losing my edge.

"I.. I just mean that you look very angry all the time. You never smile." he says when he is a comfortable distance away from me.

I look this midget up and down. Who does he think he is?

"I don't smile." I respond flatly.

"Well, why not?" he insists.

"I just don't." I tell him getting frustrated.

"Okay.. Well.. have you thought about what you are going to show the gamemakers?" he asks me with an annoying smile on his face.

"No." I say.

"Me either, I'm afraid that I'm not as good as I thought I was. I don't know what to show them." he says looking down.

"I just want to kill everyone and then get out of here. You're making this easy for me." I growl.

The boy doesn't move.

Why isn't he running away in fear? This is annoying. I ignore the boy until he gets the hint and slowly saunters back to his group of infants.

I haven't thought about what I am going to do in there seriously because the only thing that I know I could do would scare them off and have me locked up in an insane asylum.

I walk into the monochrome steel bathroom and stare at myself in a mirror. Past experienced of slaughtering animals in the woods come to mind. Taking away their hearts, organs and bones.

I have experience slaughtering animals and people. I'm not sure who thought that putting me in an arena with 23 other people was a good idea. The idea of twenty three dead bodies surrounding me excites me more than a lot of things in life.

A slow smile spreads across my face.

I know what I am going to show them and I am so ready.

* * *

 _She was a lonely type_

 _Her heart can not disguise_

 _Her passion for life_

 _She had a love for art_

 _Painted pictures with her heart_

 _She's One of a kind_

* * *

 **Erika Ryner, 13.**

 **District 5 female.**

I know that I am under estimated. I can feel it and the last thing that I need is for the game makers to think so too.

Being nice and kind to others has gotten me far in life but unfortunately this is the hunger games and the only thing that being nice to people here will do is get me killed early on. My whole life, I have been content with not being the center of attention. Don't get me wrong, I love attention but it isn't the most important thing to me.

This is different though, if I want sponsors and attention from people, I need to stand out.

"Have you thought about what you are going to show them?" Cecily asks me with a smile.

"I am going to show them the only thing that I know for a fact that I am good at, painting." I return the smile.

Cecily has been great. We need someone who can keep it together at all times and talk us down when we are freaking out and she has been just that.

"You're going to kill it." she pats my back as she gets up and returns to Tannin.

"Erika, they are ready for you." says the scary boy from nine.

Everyone else has looked so confident walking out of that room and it is making me nervous. Bryce came out with a smile on his face, Tessa looked content and Pency looks happy too.

I take a deep breath and hold my head high and enter the room.

"Hello little miss Erika!" says a woman with bright green eyes, light brown hair and pink skin. She looks funny and I try not to stare.

"Hello!" I smile brightly.

"Begin whenever you are ready. You have ten minutes." the pink woman says sitting back.

I know what I need to do.

I scan the room and find the selection of paints that they have sitting on one of the tables. I rush over to the table and begin painting the intricate details of the flowers on the wall onto my body. It seems like time is about to run out but they never say anything. When every inch of my body is covered in the paints, I dip my hair in the yellow paint.

It actually pains me. Instant regret follows. I am going to be picking paint out of my hair for the rest of my life.

I turn around and smile at the people watching.

"Can you send something that would want to hurt out." I ask sweetly.

The pink woman nods and pushes a button. A big wolf like creature runs out into the room. I set my sights on the part of the wall that I was so carefully replicating on my body and run to it. I lay as flat as I can against the wall. I grip a knife tight just incase although I would have no idea what to do with this if the beast came at me.

The creature looks all around the room with a snarl and runs at one of the tables sending everything to the floor. He doesn't even see me so I hurl the knife and it lands in the creature's neck. Even I wasn't expecting that to happen. The beast lets out a screech but he just gets more angry and runs towards the glass that is containing the gamemakers. Oops. . The pink woman ushers the creature out gives me a look.

"Impressive, but stick with what you know. The last thing you want is to injure a tribute and make an enemy."

I know it wasn't much but that's all that I know how to do and it worked.

I knew my painting skills would come in handy eventually.

"Woah, what the hell happened to your hair?" Bryce asks as I exit.

* * *

 _I never knew_

 _I never knew that everything was falling through_

 _That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue_

 _To turn and run when all I needed was the truth_

 _But that's how it's got to be_

 _It's coming down to nothing more than apathy_

 _I'd rather run the other way than stay and see_

 _The smoke and who's still standing when it clears_

* * *

 **Jayson Faller, 14.**

 **District 2 male.**

In all my fourteen years of life, I have never once struggled with confidence. I know what I want and I know that I am capable of getting what I want.

With my confidence though, comes doubt from others. So many people in my district doubted me when it came to almost every area of my life. When I told my parents that I wanted to bring home all passing marks in school, they scoffed. I almost proved them wrong too. Almost. It's always almost.

When Tyson Wayford won the hunger games, everyone called it luck. No one figured that a stone mason would ever be able to make it back. I don't believe in luck. I believe that you need to work hard for everything you get in life. Tyson worked his way to the top and made it home and I fully intend on doing the same thing.

"Your eyes are bright again Jayson, don't do anything crazy in there." Tannin tells me.

"Crazy is good though, right?" I ask him.

I want to make a good impression and get a good score. So it needs to be outrageous." I tell him trying to come up with something good in my head.

"All I'm saying is that if you are overly confident, it might turn some people away from you. Just use your brain." Tannin smiles at me and heads into the room.

Everyone is doubtful. It gets old. I am where I am supposed to be and I am going to prove it.

"Good luck in there, buddy!" the guy from five tells me.

Everyone has been so nice to far and they keep calling me cute and funny. I am not cute and I am most certainly not trying to be funny. I won't complain though. If the other tributes think what I'm doing is cute and funny, then I will most definitely win over some people that will sponsor me.

Tannin walks out of the room with a straight face.

"You're up, good luck!" he gently smiles.

I walk into the room.

"Hello! My name is Jayson Faller!" I say loud and proud.

"Hello, Jayson." Says a woman with blonde hair. I know I've seen her on TV before.

"Are you ready to begin, young man?" a different woman with pink skin asks me.

"Are you ready for what is about to occur right before your very eyes?" I retort and smile.

"You have ten minutes, begin please." she says coldly.

Tough crowd.

I quickly scan the room. There is so many different things to do and I had no idea what I was going to walk into. I have never used a weapon before.

I quickly think back to what Tyson Wayford did during his private sessions and head for the section with all the tools.

Tyson practiced spears. He took out a mutt on his second spear and got a high score. I can do that too.

"Bring out the scariest thing you've got back there!" I say standing tall.

A tall…thing comes out of the door. It looks almost like a person but not quite. It has three legs and it's coming at me quick. I rush to find the spears and when my eyes lock on them, I sprint over. I know that my speed is going to be an advantage in the games.

I grab the spears and start chucking them towards the thing in front of me. Each spear flys a few inches and goes straight down to the ground. I keep trying and trying but none of the spears will go more than a few feet in front of me and the thing is getting closer and closer. I turn around and run and thrown spears over my shoulder but I trip and fall.

The thing is about to catch up to me and I let out a loud scream just before the gamemakers push a button and make it stop.

"We've seen enough. Very good Jayson." the blonde woman says with a sympathetic smile.

I jog out of the room trying not to cry. I sucked. Utterly failed.

"Jayson, what is wrong?" Cecily asks grabbing my arm as I try to get by.

"I failed. I made a complete fool of myself and I am going to get the lowest score. I know I can do this. I was made to win this it was just a bad try. I want another shot. I just-" Cecily interupts me.

"Breathe, Jayson. Maybe you did better than you thought. Let's just wait and see the scores. I'm sure you did fine." She smiles.

I know that I didn't do good and now I'm questioning everything but I can't let my walls down now, I can still win this thing.

* * *

 _Back off, I'll take you on_

 _Headstrong to take on anyone_

 _I know that you are wrong_

 _Headstrong, we're headstrong_

 _Back off, I'll take you on_

 _Headstrong to take on anyone_

 _I know that you are wrong_

 _And this is not where you belong_

* * *

 **Oswald Preston, 18.**

 **District 11 male.**

Having a broken foot definitely hindered me from giving my best performance in there and I am really worried about the score that I am going to receive. I tried to take down the mutt but I didn't succeed.

A strange atmosphere has taken over the tributes as we all wait to see our scores. Everyone is nervous and anxious but of course they are showing it in different ways.

The pair from eight is standing alone talking in a corner. The girl looks unsettled and it looks as if the boy is trying to comfort her but she keeps swatting his hand away.

Claudio and Hadley are sitting there staring off into space until Hadley starts giggling.

The twins and their two allies are seemingly calm and are engaged in what seems to be a very serious conversation. The girl looks concerned and the boy is patting her shoulder.

Cierra is being Cierra and her allies are rolling their eyes.

The four youngest tributes seem to have banded together and they are all sitting in a circle listening to a story about a wild fox from the girl from seven.

Seeing all the tributes together finally makes me realize that I am all alone in this. I have no one to fall back on but myself.

It's nothing new though as that is how it's been my whole life but it is still unsettling. I have to be on top of it in the arena if I want to make it out. My foot is starting to really bother me so I have a seat and close my eyes.

"They are ready to reveal the scores, All tributes follow me." A man with chocolate brown hair and pale green eyes leads us all into a room.

A woman with blonde hair that falls just above her shoulders comes onto the TV.

"Welcome, Welcome! I am sure you are all just as excited as I am for the reveal of the scores for the third annual hunger games!" the woman shouts into the microphone.

"As you all probably know, my name is Estelle Geofferson and I am the head game maker, I am joined tonight by Victor Dahlia Franklin and she will be helping me to reveal the scores!" she says happily.

Dahlia franklin seems lost and just genuinely unhappy to be there. Her smile looks plastered on as she straightens her posture.

"This is taking forever. Get on with it!" Bryce shouts at the TV. Kenna grabs his arm and gives him a look and he quiets down.

They begin to read the scores aloud and everyone gets quiet. Reactions are either extremely happy or complete devastation.

"Hadley Marin of district 2 with a score of 6!" Dahlia says into the microphone.

"Are you freaking kidding me?! That is ridiculous!" she shouts knocking over a glass. Claudio chuckles.

"Jayson Faller... with a score of 2." She announces.

"I knew I failed in there! I can do better, I want to go again!" The boy from two throws a tantrum.

"I mean, this year could be interesting. There are so many capable contenders!" Estelle laughs into the microphone causing her perfect updo to unravel. .

"And you're predicted victor for the third annual hunger games is… Bryce Constantin from district five with a score of 10!" she says.

The room gets quiet as everyone stares and looks at Bryce.

"Oh, just perfect. I'm sure my parents are so pleased right now." he grumbles.

"Didn't you hear them? They think you are going to win. That is a good thing." Tessa says staring at him with envy.

"I heard it alright." he says walking away and Kenna quickly follows.

"What did he do in there?!" I ask out loud.

"Who knows.. But he doesn't seem happy." Hannale says wheeling her wheelchair out of the room.

"Thank you for tuning in tonight and please stayed tuned tomorrow night where we will interview and get to know all of our darling tributes just a little bit better!" Estelle says waving to the cameras.

The Tv flashes off and everyone leaves the room.

* * *

 **Hey guyssssssss.**

 **Sorry that this chapter is a little bit on the shorter side, but life. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and are as excited as I am to finally get to the games. I am growing more and more attached to each and every tribute so i's exciting but I know it's going to be tough.**

 **Without further Ado, here are the training scores. :)**

 **Adaira- 9**

 **Claudio- 7**

 **Hadley- 6**

 **Jayson- 2**

 **Cierra- 4**

 **Noah- 3**

 **Riley- 6**

 **Rhiannon- 5**

 **Bryce- 10**

 **Erika- 7**

 **Borja- 5**

 **Adeona-5**

 **Cecily-7**

 **Tannin- 4**

 **Kenna-8**

 **Jake- 4**

 **Olivia-6**

 **Pency- 5**

 **Tessa-3**

 **Maret-4**

 **Oswald-2**

 **Ciara- 7**

 **Allan- 2**

 **Hannale- 4**

 **Keep in mind, that just because your tribute got a low score doesn't mean that they are going to die early and just because they got a high score doesn't mean they are going to make it far.**

 **I am hoping to have the interviews up either tonight as well or tomorrow afternoon!**

 **What do y'all think?**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	20. Interveiws and Launch

**I can't believe we are already here. I wasn't sure if I was going to do the interviews because I didn't know if the hunger games would be as glamorized in only the 3rd games but I decided to do a short one anyways. I am just ready to get to the bloodbath to be quite frank lol. Does anyone actually know what that means? Like, who even is frank? Anyways.. Lol. I can't believe we are almost at the bloodbath. Enjoy the interviews!**

* * *

 _Those words cut deep but they don't mean you're all alone_

 _And you're not invisible_

 _Hear me out,_

 _There's so much more to life than what you're feeling now_

 _Someday you'll look back on all these days_

 _And all this pain is gonna be invisible_

 _Oh, invisible_

* * *

 **Jake Diaz, 17.**

 **District 8 male.**

Rhiannon comes out of the bathroom with a worried expression on her face. Olivia had followed her in there to try and comfort her. She was going on and on about how she couldn't even speak in front of a group of people that she did know let alone people that she had never seen before.

Honestly, I can feel her pain. Being bullied my whole life has me constantly thinking that people are always going to be like that. Always going to be picking apart every single thing that I say and taunting me with it. Always going to be right there to laugh when I make a mistake or when I mess up.

Riley and I are waiting outside the bathroom waiting for Olivia and Rhiannon. When they finally come out, Rhiannon looks pale.

"Remember what we talked about Rhi." Riley says as Olivia pats her on the back.

"I know, I know. Breathe and be myself. Smart, witty and sweet. I can do this… I think." She says. A woman with dark red hair comes and urges her to the stage and she is gone just like that.

I lean back against the wall and start preparing my answers. I need to do well out there. I was pretty certain that I was going to do well going into the private session but I got a low score and it completely shattered my confidence. I was so close but the mutt was faster and it had to be shut down before it could get to me. I tried my best and I think that is what hurts the most. I won't let this be another incident like that, so my answers must be perfect.

While I am lost in my thoughts, the audience laughs. Rhiannon must be doing better than she thought. She walks off stage looking flustered but confident.

"You nailed it, Rhi!" Riley says spinning her around in a circle. Olivia hugs her and they do that super annoying thing that girls do where they jump up and down.

The woman with auburn hair turns her attention towards me at this point and tells me that it is my turn. I follow her until we get to the side of the stage. I peer out from behind one of the purple curtains and get a sinking feeling in my stomach. What if they laugh at me, what if they don't like me. My confidence can't take another blow.

"Panem, please give a warm welcome to district eight's Jake Diaz!" I straighten the annoying bow tie that they have placed around my neck and take a deep breath. Estelle Geofferson has her short blonde hair piled into a bun on the top of her head and is wearing a flowing blue gown.

I walk over to her and shake her hand.

"Very polite, young man! How are you?" she asks me with an eerie smile.

"As good as one can be under these circumstances." I tell her with a smile. A few people in the audience make noises.

"Fair enough, So Jake. Tell us about you home life." she says.

"Well, it's nothing exciting. Most of my life I have been bullied for being different. I am just hoping to prove all of them wrong." I say and the audience oohs and awes.

"What could a young man like you be bullied for?" she inquires.

"Well, I don't have the same interests as most people in my district. I love baseball and anything athletic but people usually assume that, that means I don't have any other skills and they make sure to voice their opinions." I tell her.

"Awh, well you are in the right place to demonstrate your athletic skills. How exciting." she says.

"Last question and we will send you on your way." She says.

"Do you have anyone worth getting home too?" She asks raising her eyebrows.

"No, mam. It's just me, but I know she is out there somewhere." I say and the women in the audience go wild.

"Everyone, please show him that we appreciate his time… not that he had a choice!" the crowd claps and I head off the stage as fast as I can.

Kenna is waiting on the side of the stage to go next and she squeezes my shoulder as I pass.

"Jake! You killed it out there. See, confidence is everything." she smiles at me and fixes her long purple dress and loose brown curls before heading out onto the stage.

She is right, maybe if I believe in myself a little bit more, I can take this home.

* * *

 _There's a shadow on the wall; stay calm, stay calm_

 _There's a figure in the hall; stay calm, stay calm_

 _Keep my wits and stay alive_

 _Wish I had a 9 to 5_

 _There's a stranger in us all; stay calm, stay calm_

* * *

 **Cecily Prane, 15.**

 **District 7 female.**

I am so glad that those are over. I think that the interviews are the most stressful part of the pregames. There are so many people to impress and your chance of getting sponsorships pretty much lies in the hands of people's opinions of you. My interview went well, I was able to get positive reactions from the crowd and from Estelle Geofferson herself. When they asked about people back at home, Rory's face came to mind and when I told everyone about him they nodded and awed in what I can only assume was sympathy. If these capitolites have any of that at all.

Jayson was the last one to go out and when he walked off stage, he looked confident but of course that is no surprise.

Hannale is going to get so many sponsorships because apparently she was pregnant and now that she has a baby to get home too people are going to want to help her. I feel for her but at the same time, I can't help but feel as if that is an unfair advantage.

Kenna charmed her way through the interview as well. The audience kept nodding their heads as she spoke about her determination.

Rhiannon stumbled across her words a few times but once Estelle invited Riley out onto the stage her confidence came soaring back.

Oswald didn't do to well because he wasn't hiding his annoyance with the questions he was being asked very well. He angered quickly and eventually just stopped talking.

Ciara did well, she spoke about her size is something that often makes people look down on her… literally and the audience thought her witty remark was very funny.

You would think that now that the interviews are over, that people would be a little bit more prepared. I mean, as prepared and calm as one who is entering the hunger games can be. The rest of the tributes are either crying, distracting themselves or scrambling around trying to make sense of everything.

"How are you keeping so calm?" Tannin and Jayson ask sitting down next to me.

"The games are right around the corner.." Tannin says looking down.

"Remember what we talked about, both of you. If you believe that you can go far and that you can do this. You will." I smile at them in an attempt to ease their nerves.

"But what if we don't believe, Cecily?" Tannin asks me with tears welling in his big brown eyes.

He is far too young and innocent to be dealing with something like this and it just makes my hatred towards the Capitol grow. Tannin is smart and he is not naive. He knows that this is a serious situation so I don't blame him for one second for being scared.

"Then you need to start. The trick is to believe that failure is not an option. If you don't think you will fail, than you won't. If you go into this thinking that you are going to die first thing, you probably will because that is all that will be taking over your mind." I tell him.

Tannin smiles at me and wipes away the stray tear that has fallen from his eyes.

"I don't have any issues in that department, I've got this is the bag." Jayson says and I giggle.

"I'm not so sure that is the best attitude to have either." I laugh.

"Why not?"

"Well, you need to believe that you can do it, but you also need to be cautious." I tell him lightly.

"Remember when Tyson jumped off that big rock, sending his sword into the other guy's stomach? That is going to be me." He says.

I shake my head.

"I guess that we will just have to wait and see what happens." I smile.

* * *

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm alright song_

 _My power's turned on_

 _Starting right now I'll be strong_

 _I'll play my fight song_

 _And I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

* * *

 **Riley Hughes, 15.**

 **District 4 male.**

It's been getting worse over the past few days. I can feel myself getting tired. Just today alone, I have had to avoid Rhiannon four times and take a few moments to compose myself.

I don't know if this is how all cancers work, but I really did feel fine until all this happened. Maybe it's the stress of it all.

We are about to launch into the games but I feel to weak to move much right now, I haven't had a day this bad in forever. Then again though, I didn't know that I had cancer up until last week. I can just imagine that Rhiannon is losing her mind right now and I know that I need to go find her, but I don't want her to even get the idea in her head that I'm not okay. I don't see a purpose in me making it out of here at this point so I am going to do everything in my power to make sure she gets out.

I stand up from sitting against the cold tile wall and walk over to splash some water on my face. There are bags forming under my eyes and I look more pale than I usually do. I push my shaggy brown hair out the way and splash cold water onto my face. It shocks me but it definitely wakes me up and makes me more alert.

I walk out to join the rest of the tributes and it looks as if I am right on time. A woman with multicolored hair carefully arranged into a bow on the top of her head is talking to everyone.

"It's time to go, form a line and follow me. This is so exciting. Your lives are about to change!" she beams.

I jump in front Rhiannon in the line that has been formed and she flicks me in the back of the head.

"Where the hell have you been, you crazy?!" she asks me exasperated.

"Sorry, had to go the bathroom." I whisper back.

"You took forever in there, I don't want to know." she says making a face.

I try and laugh but it hurts so instead, I try and hide the pain.

The woman leads us to some sort of weird train and sits us all down. Rows of people start coming out once we are seated and placing blindfolds over our eyes.

"Well, you could have taken me to dinner first and I just might have been into this." Cierra says as she is blindfolded.

"Quiet!" the woman says.

"The train ride should take about twenty minutes and we have important information to tell you. If you aren't quiet you might miss something and then you will die." she says sternly.

She talks about rules and regulations the whole way there and to be honest, I kind of tune out. Once the train stops, we are lead into the launch room. The walls are made out different colors of pastel cotton like fabric. It looks like we are inside of one big colorful cloud and I can't help but wonder what the arena is going to be like. It must be some sort of fantasy land.

"You will launch in two minutes, tributes! Get to your designated tube." the woman says.

Rhiannon walks over to hers with a blank expression on her face and I find mine placed far away from hers. Figures. I enter the cold glass enclosure and the door slams behind me. I make sure to make eye contact with Rhiannon the whole way up. When I rise all the way up I look around to try and find Rhiannon but it is so dim that I can't make out anything exactly.

"Tributes, take your mark."

10...9...8...7…

Well, here goes nothing. I can't wait to see what is going to kill me first, cancer or one of these people.

3...2...1..

"Let the third annual hunger games begin!"

My only thought is finding Rhiannon.

* * *

 **Sup. :P**

 **Guys. We are at the bloodbath. what. This is actually going to be so hard for me but I'm going to start writing it right now, I'm not sure when it will be up.**

 **I am SO excited for the games to actually be starting like y'all have no idea.**

 **I wanted to just take a moment and thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing my story. I know it's not the best but it's only my first one so it really does mean a lot.**

 **Shout out to IVolunteerAsAuthor for helping me when needed. He is writing an awesome story right now, so y'all should go check that out.**

 **See ya next time! :) Also, New poll! Please go vote!**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	21. Bloodbath

_Can you hear it calling?_

 _Can you feel it in your soul?_

 _Can you trust this longing?_

 _And take control,_

 _Fly_

 _Open up the part of you that wants to hide away_

 _You can shine,_

 _Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,_

 _And start to try, cause it's your time,_

 _Time to fly._

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **District 8 female.**

* * *

Cool. Because I absolutely wanted to spend what could possibly be my last breath in the dark.

"...hello? Bryce?" I shout out into oblivion.

The lights slowly start to come on but they stay in a dimmed state so that I can just barely make out the room. The floor is made up of black and white checkered tiles and the walls are a bubble gum pink color. There is nothing on the walls and there is no furniture in the room. The only thing that I can see is a small door. It is so small that I will probably have to crawl through it.

"Tributes, please enter." the announcer says.

I get down on my knees and pull the small door open. I crawl through the opening and end up in a room that looks exactly the same as the one I was just in. The only thing in it is a door that is a little bit bigger than the one before. I crawl through the second door and once again end up in a similar room.

"This is getting redundant. What heck is even going on?!" These people must have lost their minds. I thought that I was in the hunger games.

I walk through three more doors and end up in three more rooms before I finally get to a normal sized door. I open the door and walk through. This time, there is something in the pepto colored room. There is a single black table and a stool. On the table is a vase of blue flowers and in front of the vase is a small bottle with a cork in the top. There is a sparkling purple liquid in the bottle and little tag hanging off of the side that says "Drink me." in beautiful cursive letters.

"Drink the contents of the bottle." the voice says.

"Oh no. Absolutely not, ya psycho."

If studying poisons for most of my life has taught me one thing, it is that drinking an unattended suspicious beverage is a certain way to get yourself killed. I cross my arms across my chest and pop my hip.

"Drink it." he voice says again.

I realize that I am not going to get out of here until I drink the stupid thing so I pick it up and pop the cork off. I bring the bottle to my nose and sniff. It smells sweet. I throw my head back sending the liquid down my throat. I start to feel fuzzy and all of a sudden I need to sit down.

"Mrs. Rockwall, you must go home now. You can't fix everything. I am your assistant, let me help you." a girl with a blonde braid and thick rimmed glasses says to me. My long brown hair is loosely curled and I am wearing a black pencil skirt and a ruffly white top. I am sitting at a desk with my legs crossed on it. I look the same, only a few years older.

"I guess you are right, I wouldn't want to keep the hubby waiting longer than needed." I laugh.

"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Rockwall!"

"Seriously, call me Kenna." I smile at her and toss my handbag over my shoulder.

I get in my car and drive to a beautiful brick house. I step out of the car and walk into the house. An attractive man with a muscular build and brown hair and brown eyes greets me with a tight hug and a kiss.

"I missed you today." he whispers into my neck.

He leaves the room and comes back with a small blue bundle and hands it to me.

"So did he."

I pull the little blue bundle close to my chest and begin singing. I guess I start zoning out because a voice jolts me back to reality.

"Babe, what's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing. Everything is absolutely perfect. I didn't get everything handed to me. I have a successful job, a beautiful family and for the first time in a long time… I am genuinely happy." I smile and kick off my heels.

"My life is everything my dad would want for me, only I did it on my own." I smile.

The man wraps his arm around me and I lay my head on his chest and continue singing.

I am jolted out of this daydream by a shock.

"What the hell was that?!" I ask confused.

"Your life after the games." the voice says.

The thought of that scares me. What if that isn't what I want. Do I even know what I want?

I guess I'll never find out unless I make it out of here.

I exit the last door and see a bright blue path lined with big round lollipops.

"What the heck is this?" I whisper to myself and then sprint to find Bryce.

* * *

 _You start to sense_

 _That slowly you're becoming someone else_

 _And then you find yourself_

 _When you make new friends_

 _In a brand new town_

 _And you start to think_

 _About settlin' down_

 _The things that would have been lost on you_

 _Are now clear as a bell_

 _And you find yourself_

 _That's when you find yourself_

* * *

 **Noah Blakemore, 18.**

 **District 3 male.**

If I get out of here, my life would be how I pictured it in my dreams. I would be allowed to openly love whoever I chose. My dad and I would have the best relationship because he would be so proud of me for making it out that my sexuality wouldn't even be an issue anymore. All I've ever wanted is approval from the people that I love most and when I drank the sparkling purple fluid, everything was made clear. I needed to make it out of here.

BOOM.

"What the hell, already?" Cierra asks laughing.

"Wait, what happened?!" I ask looking around.

The boy from one has his hand to his face and is shaking his head.

"I picked the worst ally there was." he says and he starts running towards the cornucopia.

I guess the girl from district two had been too excited to get off of her launch pad that she just got to ahead of herself and ran off.

"Cierra?" I ask looking around. She is gone. This is not a good start to this alliance at all.

"I don't like this at all." Adaira says looking around.

"It brings back bad memories." she says looking down.

"Come on, now is not the time to get scared. We can do this if we can ever. freaking keep Cierra in one spot." I tell her.

"That was terrible." Ciara says.

"The girl from two just slipped and then erupted into a fit of shocks and seizures before she was just still." she says.

"It all feels real now." Adaira says.

"That's because it is real. If we stick together we should be fine. Come on, let's go find Cierra." I tell him and we begin walking.

* * *

 **Olivia Sheets, 18.**

 **District 9 male.**

"Okay, we need a game plan." Jake says as we run down the bright blue path.

The clouds looks fake, almost as if they are made out of cotton candy and the path is lined with different sized lollipops. I scan the surrounding area as I run and try and take in as much as I can. There is bright green grass and trees filled with things that I've never even imagined before.

"I can help. I might not be very good in the physical aspect of things, but I've been told that I'm very smart." I say in between breaths.

"I don't even know where to start. I think we should just lay low and stay hidden for awhile. If people come for us then we can start to fight back." Rhiannon says pulling her brown hair into a tight pony tail.

"I agree, Jake and Riley should go out and try to get supplies and we can stay here and map out our strategy at least until the top ten?" I say.

"Sounds good to me.. I guess." Jake says pumping himself up to run to the Cornucopia.

"Riley.. Be careful." Rhiannon tells him was a worried look on her face.

He looks stiff, almost as if it pains him to move but he gets up and follows Jake.

"I'll be fine." he says over his shoulder.

"I don't want to kill unless I absolutely have to. I wouldn't have it in me." Rhiannon says.

"You'd be surprised. I completely drop kicked my vampire of a district partner." I giggle.

Rhiannon and I discuss how we are going to go about things and start to panic when we realize that the boys still aren't back after about an hour of talking.

There is noises coming from the neon purple bushes behind us and we scream.

Riley and Jake emerge from the bushes with four black bags full of supplies in hand.

"That took you freaking forever!" Rhiannon shouts wrapping her arms around his neck. He winces.

"Supplies! Yay!" I say.

Jake goes back into a covered area out of sight and stays back there to set things up.

"Yes it did take forever." says Cierra also emerging from the bushes.

She walks towards Rhiannon who is struggling to remove something from her backpack. Riley jumps in front of her and goes to punch Cierra. She pushes him and he falls over.

"Riley, come on get up!" Rhiannon shouts with tears falling from her eyes.

"Rhi, I can't! I can't move!" he says struggling to get out of Cierras grip.

I stand there stunned. I can't move. Rhiannon jumps on Cierras back but she just throws her off. She hits her head on a rock and it takes her a few moments to recover. Cierra still has Riley pinned down.

"I hate to be the one to do this, I really do but what can you do." she smiles a sinister smile and plunges a short knife deep into RIley's chest. He gasps for air and holds his chest. Cierra gets off of him and runs off.

Rhiannon runs over to her brother and falls to her knees.

"Riley, come on! Get up. Get up. GET UP." she wails while pulling at his shirt.

"Come on, Rhi. We both knew I wasn't going to make it out of here. I would rather have this kill me than some stupid cancer that invaded my blood stream." he whispers in between shallow breaths.

"No! You get up this instant Riley Hughes. I need you. I've never been apart from you!" she pleads.

"I love You Rhi. I loved being your twin… You're going to go home. You have to. Believe in yourself. I always will." Riley says as his eyes close.

BOOM.

Rhiannon screams a blood curdling scream and shakes her brother.

I pull her away and wrap her in an embrace. Jake emerges from the trees and looks down.

Rhiannon, it's okay stop screaming… it's okay.

"Riley! I need you!" she screams.

I lead her away rubbing her back the whole time.

* * *

 _Stone cold, stone cold_  
 _You see me standing, but I'm dying on the floor_  
 _Stone cold, stone cold_  
 _Maybe if I don't cry, I won't feel anymore_

* * *

 **Adeona Saveras, 18.**

 **District 6 female.**

This is chaos. I knew that coming into this alone was going to be rough, but it's nothing that I'm not used to. I've been alone all my life. I look around me scanning the crowd for Borja. I told him to watch his back and I meant it.

As I'm scanning the crowd and arrow skims my hair and just barely misses me. I can't see who shot it because the only tributes that are out in plain sight are Adaira and her three allies, Cierra is nowhere to be seen. A perfect example of why you are better off alone in most situations.

I decide that it might be in my best interest to get what I need from the cornucopia and then run off until things die down. If anyone gets in my way, I have no problem killing them. I won't feel bad about it and I won't even think about it again after it happens.

I tighten my braid and start running towards the big mountain that is covered in sugary gumdrops and crystallized rocks that is in the middle of the arena.

I get there and almost make it back when someone knocks me down flat on my face and holds my head into the ground. The sword that I have just shoved into my belt loop stabs into my thigh and it hurts but I manage to wriggle loose of the grip that is holding me down and flip over to knee whoever it is in the groin.

A loud moan comes from my attacker.

"Borja." It's about damn time." I spit.

"Do you do anything else other than think about me?" he fires back while trying to get a hold my neck.

"Trust me, I have way better things to think about than you. But all I could think about for the last few hours was how much I wanted you gone. I can't even stand to be in the general area as you." I tell him rolling on top of him and shoving my knee under his throat.

"Let me help you with that." he says flipping me back over and pinning me down with all his strength.

Borja pulls out a knife and before I even realize what is going on, a warm sensation starts building in my neck. I see him throw a bloodied knife to the side as he rolls off of me and lays on his back catching his breath.

My vision starts getting blurry and my head feels light but I muster up all the energy that I have left and pull the sword from my belt loop. I pull myself onto my knees and send myself towards Borja. I lift my sword and slice into his entitled abdomen.

His eyes shoot open and he tries to keep his intestines from falling out but he fails.

"I didn't have anything to lose. You had everything to lose. A precious life and those damn countertops…" I whisper.

I start to feel tired. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is Borjas voice.

"My life wasn't precious.. You bitch."

BOOM

BOOM

* * *

 _I used to need my space a place_

 _where I could call my own_

 _But now it feel so cold_

 _I'm lying wide awake, thinking I see your face_

 _I don't know what I feel, but I know when you're not here_

 _I'm scared of the dark, haven't slept for days_

* * *

 **Allan Eregan, 14.**

 **District 12 male.**

"We did it, we survived the bloodbath!" Erika screams out.

"Shh! Be quiet. There is no way to know if it is really over yet. It's just quiet." Tannin says looking traumatized.

The events of today are something that I will never forget. I watched as the boy from six got his intestines ripped out. I've seen violence before, but nothing like this.

"Are you okay Allan?" Cecily asks me as she braids Erikas hair back into a perfect braid.

"There is no stars here. It's strange." Allan says looking up.

"Of course there isn't. This is the hunger games after all." Erika says.

"Paint them with your mind." she smiles.

"Jayson, are you okay?" I ask.

The boy who always has something to say has been strangely quiet for the past few hours.

"I…. I… I want to go home." he starts to cry.

"People are actually dying! How are you guys okay?!" he screams and runs his hands through his short red hair.

"Come on Jayson, you knew what you were getting into." Cecily says.

"It wasn't like this on TV. Tyson made this look easy." he says looking down.

"We are okay Jayson. We are safe." Cecily says.

"Don't panic until you need to" she smiles.

"Yeah, everything is going to be-" excrutiating pain takes over the whole right side of my body.

We all turn around the boy from ten is running away.

"Oh my gosh! Allan!" Erika screams.

"Don't move." Tannin says looking panicked.

He reaches behind me and pulls out an arrow. With the arrow comes all my blood though and I start fading away.

"We were so close.. Please don't go." Jayson says.

"What is going on… I see stars." I mutter.

"Go to the stars, Allan. Be free." Cecilys voice comforts me until I can't hear anything anymore.

BOOM.

* * *

 **Hello. I hated this. HATED it. This was so hard for me because I have come to love each every tribute that was sent in. Please know that if your tribute died, it is nothing personal at all. I did what I had to do to further my story but I can assure you that I enjoyed writing every single tribute that I received.**

 **Here is what the tributes saw when they drank the contents of the bottle:**

 **Adaira: She was happy and with out nightmares. She was her old self again.**

 **Claudio- He was still causing trouble but this time with much more money :P**

 **Hadley: She was dating Lucas and got to go on adventures for a living.**

 **Jayson- He had everything that Tyson Wayford had and earned the respect of everyone in his district.**

 **Cierra- She was at peace with herself.**

 **Noah- He was accepted and had a relationship with his dad.**

 **Riley: There was a cure for his cancer and he was fighting it.**

 **Rhiannon: Professional dancer who was confident and independent.**

 **Erika: Using her niceness to help people and a political figure for Panem hoping to make changes.**

 **Bryce: He was able to be himself.**

 **Adeona: She finally had a home.**

 **Borja: His dad was leaving him alone but he still had all his luxuries.**

 **Cecily: Professional Artist. Lived on her own with no drippy roof and everything that she could ever want.**

 **Tannin: Back with his family.**

 **Kenna: making her own decisions and genuinely happy.**

 **Jake: bringing baseball to Panem. No more bullying.**

 **Olivia: Married to her boyfriend. Happy and not like her mother.**

 **Pency: doing what ever the heck he wants with no consequences.**

 **Maret: Back with Courtney. No more lying and no more small jobs.**

 **Tessa: She knows who she is and she is able to give her grandmother a good life.**

 **Oswald: Good terms with his father. No more drinking.**

 **Ciara: created a name for herself. No one uses her size against her. She isn't following in her sisters footsteps anymore.**

 **Hannale: Back with Asher and her baby.**

 **Allan: A sense of belonging and studying astronomy.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **24th. Hadley** **Marin** **\- Stepped off her platform to soon:** **Hadley was so much fun to write. She was fearless and funny but she was submitted as a bloodbath so she died. Rip in peace crazy.**

 **23rd. Riley Hughes-** **Killed by Cierra Hart:** **Caleb, I am SO sorry. I know you loved Riley and Rhiannon but I have plans for Rhiannons development and I can't do that with him still there. It also made me sad writing about someone with cancer in the arena. He was such an amazing tribute and I am so sorry that he had to die. Love you.**

 **22nd. Adeona Saveras- Killed by Borja Adventadore: Adeona was such a cool tribute and I enjoyed writing her so much. I felt that I wasn't completely doing her justice though and she was actually pretty hard for me to write for which is why she died so early on. Thank you so much to her submitter. I'm sorry she had to die.**

 **21st. Borja Adventadore- Killed By Adeona Saveras: Once again, Borja was such an amazing tribute and his form was incredible but I really struggled with writing him for some reason. It took me forever. Thank you so much for submitting him he was really fun to write. Sorry that he's gone.**

 **20th- Allan Eregan- Killed by Maret Wenling: Allan was a great tribute and I am sorry that he is gone. I couldn't really see any development for Allan as much as I could for some of the other tributes which is why he is gone. Thanks so much for submitting girl.**

 **I really hope y'all don't hate me. This was so hard.**

 **What do you think?**

 **Predictions?**

 **Were you sad to see anyone go?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	22. Day one

_The monument of a memory_

 _You tear it down in your head_

 _Don't make the mountain your enemy_

 _Get out, get up there instead_

 _You saw the stars out in front of you_

 _Too tempting not to touch_

 _But even though it shocked you_

 _Something's electric in your blood_

* * *

 **Theresa "Tessa" Cowell, 18.**

 **District 10 female.**

If I ever thought that I had a reason to be dramatic, I was wrong. Until now of course. The bloodbath was insane. Besides the dark days, I have never witnessed anything like that before. People were running so fast and I couldn't find Borja so I just ran until I came to this little area with wildflowers of all colors and shapes and I just laid in the grass out of sight until it was all over.

I saw Borja's name light up in the sky and even though I didn't know him that well I started to sob. He was my only chance at getting out of here. I knew that if I stuck with him for as long as I could, that I would make it far. But now, I am all alone and I have no idea where to go from here.

Nothing in my life ever goes the way that I hope and I am determined to not let this be one of those things. Normally, I would have thrown a fit, screamed and maybe even cried but I am going to push all those emotions and feeling down no matter how unfair that I feel this is.

I sit up from where I fell asleep the night before and pick petals out of my blonde hair.

I need to get to the cornucopia and get supplies.

There is no one around and it is eerily quiet except for I hear whispering. I stand up straight and spin in a circle taking in my surroundings. There is no one there.

"Come out, it's not funny!" I shout out. I look in between the trees but there is no movement.

"Down here, blondie." a small voice says from below me.

I look down and a red flower has its leaves positioned to look as if its hands are on its hips.

"Did… did you just talk to me?" I ask kneeling down wide eyed.

" _If you want to stay alive_

 _There are things you must do in order to thrive_

 _It will be scary entering the unknown_

" _It's best that you don't try and tackle it alone."_

"Wait what? What the hell does that mean?" I shout.

"I wasn't alone but then freaking Borja had to go and die on me." I mumble.

I feel like I am on drugs or something talking to a damn flower.

The flower just keeps repeating the riddle and finally I have had enough.

"Why won't you explain yourself you stupid plant?!" I scream and reach to pull it from the ground but as soon as my palm connects with the stem, thorns emerge from it sending spike into my hand and causing blood to drip down my arm.

"What the hell?!" I scream.

I turn and leave the meadow of psycho flowers and run through the trees in hopes that one of the bags at the cornucopia will have what I need to aid my injured hand. My hand really hurts and I am looking down at it to make sure it doesn't start to swell when I run into someone sending both of us flying.

I sit up scared and the girl from twelve looks just as scared as me.

"What the hell bitch!" she yells.

"I'm… I'm sorry." I say backing away.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. You really should watch where you are going through." she says looking down.

"I'm sorry. It's just my hand really hurts because the stupid talking flower poked me." I say showing her my bloodied hand.

Hannale hold up her hand.

"Wait, did you just say talking flowers?" she asks with one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised.

"Yes, it kept telling me not to do things alone and I got mad and tried to make it shut up." I laugh realizing how stupid it sounds.

"Wow. These game makers are going all out, I just passed a tree that was growing spoons." she giggles.

"Well, we should go and try to find something that will help your hand, yeah?" She asks me.

"Are you going to kill me..?" I ask her skeptically.

"Girl, what the fuck do I look like. I just figured that since you are alone and I'm alone.. We could join up." she says hopefully.

"Oh sure… I would like that." I say thinking that maybe this is what the vicious flower had meant.

"And besides, if anyone should be scared, it's me. I'm joining up with a girl who talks to plants." she laughs.

* * *

 _Past the museum of death_

 _And the madman yelling answers_

 _I sail on new beginnings_

 _And psychics taking chances_

 _In the cedars like sparks_

 _Wasting my goddamn time_

 _As far as I could get_

 _I went as far as I could get_

* * *

 **Pency Skewer, 18.**

 **District 9 male.**

I didn't get a single kill in the bloodbath and it pissed me off to be quite frank.

Before entering the arena, I had the bloodbath planned out in my head. I would stand in the middle of as many bloodied bodies as I could and I would enjoy every minute of it. Going up to each and every dead tribute and tasting the blood of the fallen. Delicious victory.

Unfortunately, that isn't how it went down. I decided once I saw the boy from ten come straight for me first that he was going to be my first victim. I went looking for him but he was gone.

The bloodbath was amazing, only I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more blood. It is a very misleading title indeed. I sat in the background and watched the boisterous boy from six have his intestines ripped out and I have never felt more joy sitting something like that out. I couldn't contain my laughter as the boy gripped his side in pain. It was marvelous.

You see, a bloodbath insinuates that more than five people were going to die. At least to me, it did. If I would have given it everything I had I would have made that come true. However, I was thoroughly enjoying watching all the pain and suffering for once.

While everyone else was so caught up in trying to kill other people I was able to get my hands on a sword of my own and since then, I have just been sitting in the annoyingly fluorescent pink bushes and pricking my fingers and enjoying the delicacy that is blood.

"You are a sick fuck." the boy from eleven pops up behind me wrapping his arm around my neck.

"Ah, Ozzy. I was wondering when you were going to want to join up." I say getting myself out of his grasp.

"I would rather use that sword and gauge my own eyeballs out than spend more than thirty seconds with someone like you." he spits.

"You are so angry. Who hurt you?" I ask blowing a kiss in his direction and then laughing.

"Who hasn't? You aren't going to be one of them though. You need to be eliminated now before you start eating people." he lunges towards me but it is actually quite a pathetic sight. He limps forward like an angry penguin and I can't help but laugh.

"You really are just terrible." he says.

I stomp on his other foot and he goes spiraling to the ground.

"Let me help you with that hurt foot." I say taking my sword and slicing his foot off just above the ankle. I take blood from the sword and put it in my mouth and enjoy Oswalds screams.

"You need help, you really do!" he says with a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there is alcohol in hell." I whisper right before I plunge the sword into his heart. I leave it there for a more dramatic effect and walk off.

BOOM.

"Well, my job here is done." I chuckle.

* * *

 _And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack_

 _All around the world was waking, I never could go back_

 _Cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn wide open_

 _And finally it seemed that the spell was broken_

 _And all my bones began to shake, my eyes flew open_

 **Ciara Kelsall, 18.**

 **District 11 female.**

I can't believe you did that!" Adaira shouts at Cierra.

"Sweetie, in case you haven't noticed this is the hunger games." Cierra yells back getting in her face.

They have been screaming at each other for the past forty five minutes. Noah and I have tried to intervene multiple times and we just get shut down so we are going to let them finish.

I am proud of myself. I haven't had one mood swing since I've been reaped. Of course people have been annoying as hell but I have been pretty good at managing my temper.

"You have no heart, Cierra! That is my point." Adaira says crossing her arms.

"You can't have one in here! Quite frankly if you do have one, I'm not so sure that I want you to be in our alliance anymore. You will just hold us back!" Cierra says backing off.

"You literally went after the most vulnerable person first, and you laughed when you found out that the poor boy had freaking cancer!" Adaira says wide eyed.

Back at home, my sister and I did fight quite often, she knew how to push my buttons more than anyone else and would often set me off on one of my tangents. Listening to these two bicker back and forth has definitely made me reflect on how annoying that probably was for everyone else that wasn't involved.

"You are just a pansy!" Cierra screams getting more and more aggressive.

"You just ruined that girl's life, Cierra! It is a little bit concerning that it's not even phasing you." Adaira says is a hurt voice.

"Get over it, bitch." Cierra says.

"You don't know how it feels to lose the most important person in your life, so excuse me for feeling for the girl!" Adaira says getting fired up again.

"You are pathetic. It's amusing." Cierra says with a smile.

I have had enough.

"WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AN ALLIANCE, YOU FOOLS. GET IT TOGETHER AND STOP ACTING LIKE LITTLE FUCKING CHILDREN. MOVE ON, BOTH OF YOU. WE ARE NOT OFF TO A GOOD START." I scream.

Well there goes my nice streak.

"How did such a big noise come out of something so little?" Noah jokes, stunned.

Cierra and Adaira stare at me wide eyed.

"Oh.. I'm sorry. Please please forgive me, I will never be able to go on with my life." Cierra says sarcastically.

"That wasn't sincere and you know it." Adaira says.

"How do you think that Lolaine would feel about you being a baby?" she asks with a smirk.

Adairas face sinks and she stands up tall. She reaches back and punches Cierra in the face with all her strength sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Never let that name come out of your mouth again." she says coldly.

"I can't do this anymore. I'd rather be alone. Anyone else coming?" she asks.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Noah asks.

"I can't deal with her. She is insane." Adaira says walking away.

"Just great, Cierra!" Noah says with his head in his hands.

This is absolutely ridiculous. As if the hunger games weren't stressful enough.

It's the first day and we are already down one, great. Just great.

* * *

 _No walls_

 _Can keep me protected_

 _No sleep_

 _Nothing in between me and the rain_

 _And you can't save me now,_

 _I'm in the grip of a hurricane_

 _I'm gonna blow myself away_

* * *

 **Claudio Sterling, 18.**

 **District one male.**

I picked the stupidest district partner out there. She was literally spinning in circles on her platform and then just hopped off. I guess it's a good thing though. God only knows what that crazy girl would have tried in here.

My plan is still to be nice and to take people out when they are least expecting it. That is why I went awol during the bloodbath. I have to be smart about this. I need to make myself background noise until at least the final ten and I am pretty sure I can manipulate my way to at least that.

I had to remind myself who the hell I was yesterday. I saw that boy from district twelve's picture up in the sky and got so upset. I didn't even know him but fourteen seems like a life stolen away. I had for more years than him and somehow that just doesn't seem fair. I had to take a step back and realize that I am in the hunger games and I can't picture Riya on every young tribute because that will literally destroy me. Riya is safe. She isn't here and if I want to make sure that she stays safe, I need to get home.

The area where I ran too has rolling hills and trees beyond trees. There are things that I have never seen growing on trees, edible cups, weird berries and even things that look like cookies but are shaped really funny. I hear a river running nearby and I am really curious so I start following the sound. I feel like I walk forever but eventually I find the source of the noise and my jaw drops.

There is a wide river in front of me, the river is flowing really quickly but it's made out of chocolate. It looks thick sticky but let's be real. You can't put a chocolate river in front of someone and expect them not to try it. I dip my finger in and taste it. It definitely tastes like real chocolate but I am suspicious.

I decided to walk along the river and it goes on and on.

"Oh great, just the person that I wanted to see." A girl's voice says.

I turn around and see my district partner Adaira holding her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. Her face is read and puffy and she doesn't look okay.

If it was anyone else I would have killed them quickly and efficiently but she is my district partner after all so I feel as if I must cut her some slack.

"Am I really that terrible? By the way, you look like a tomato." I joke.

"Yes, you are." she says wiping her tears.

Against my better judgement, I go and sit next to her.

"What's going on?" I ask her pulling my knees up to my chest.

Adaira pulls her hair into a ponytail and takes a deep breath. She gives me a skeptical look out of the corner of her eye.

"Come on, I am your district partner." I tell her.

"Fine. Well first of all Claudio, we are in the hunger games so I'm not in the best spirits right now." She says with an attitude.

"Wait, that's where we are? I thought we were on vacation in Candy Land." I say pointing to the crazy landscape in front of us.

"Claudio." she puts her hands over her face.

"Okay, okay. Whats wrong?" I ask her seriously this time.

"Well, It's the first actual day of the games and I've already lost my alliance. Cierra is such a bitch." She says looking as if she is about to cry again.

"They kicked you out?" I ask surprised.

"No, I left. She brought up my dead best friend so I punched her and left." She says with a smile.

"Nice! It sounds like she deserved it." I tell her.

"I just don't know what I am going to do." she says tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Well, My ally didn't have a brain. So if you want, I am free. We are district partners after all." I tell her.

"Really? That is so nice." she smiles at me.

"Don't call me nice." I tell her.

"Fine… fine I-" She leans over and grabs her stomach.

"Are you okay? What just happened?" I ask her.

"I tasted the chocolate from the river and now I just feel violently ill." she runs over to a bush and throws up.

"Great, just great. The candy is a trap." my stomach starts to bubble.

"It's not edible." Adaira says in between throwing up.

"Lesson learned." I say as I go find a place to vomit.

* * *

 _Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father_

 _Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers_

 _Leave all your love and your longing behind_

 _You can't carry it with you if you want to survive_

 **Jayson Faller, 14.**

 **District 2 male.**

Tannin hasn't said a word since Allan died. Normally that wouldn't bother me but he hasn't changed his facial expression and he won't utter a sound.

Cecily has tried to get him to talk but he refuses. He is just staring off into oblivion and nothing will make him snap back to reality.

I had never imagined the hunger games would be like this. They make this look like a movie on TV. I never could have imagined that it would be like this and I just want to go home.

"Please stop crying, Jayson." Erika tries to comfort me but I push her hand off.

"I just want to go home! People are dying!" I cry.

"Jayson, you volunteered. What did you expect?" Cecily asks him.

"I thought that…. I thought… I don't know. I obviously didn't think! I just want my mom!" I say looking down.

"Who's bright idea was it to pair all the young tributes together." Erika says looking down.

"Look, we are fine. We just need to regroup." Cecily says taking charge.

"We need to take someone out, to prove that just because we are young doesn't mean that we are weak." she says looking focused.

"You want us to kill someone?!" I scream.

"Jayson, chill." Erika says and she piles her golden blonde hair into a pile on her head.

"If we want to make it far, we are going to have to kill Jay." Cecily says with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"But who?" Erika asks.

It gets quiet. No one knows what to say.

"Maret.." Tannin speaks up.

Cecily looks at him and smiles, grabbing his hand reassuringly.

"He killed Allan." Tannin says letting tears fall down his face.

"I agree." Cecily says and Erika nods in agreement.

This is so messed up. How did Tyson do this? How does he not have major issues?

"So, we need a game plan." Erika says.

"We need to find him alone and we need to distract him until one of us can take him out." Tannin suggests.

"I'm not killing him, I can't!" I whine.

"Well, you can help with the distraction then." Cecily says.

"Erika and Tannin will help you and then I will kill him…" she says looking angry.

The rest of my allies plan for the next few hours until we head out to track him down.

We find Maret messing with a bow and arrow.

Cecily nods in our direction and we run out.

Erika screams and Tannin runs to her aid. Maret gets up and looks in our direction.

"'Help, please help!" I shout.

Maret starts to walk over.

"This is going to be way easier than I thought." I whisper.

As he gets cloder though, he starts to lift his bow and arrow.

Erikas screams turn real.

"Where is Cecily?! I scream as an arrow lodges itself into Erika's leg.

She screams.

"Right here!" Cecily says jumping on Marets back and taking her switchblade and slicing his throat.

Maret falls to the ground and gasps for air. The last thing he mutters before he falls silent is some girls name.

BOOM.

"We did it!" I shout!

"Erika needs help!" Tannin shouts. The arrow is still in her leg and she in wincing in pain.

"Cecily.. Erika is hurt." I tell her tapping her shoulder.

"I… I need a minute." she says with tears streaming down her face.

She looks really shaken up.

Cecily is a mess and Erika is hurt.

I have a sinking feeling that this isn't going to end well.

* * *

 **This chapter was fun to write. I am loving the fact that we are finally in the games.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **19th: Oswald Preston- Killed by Pency** **Skewer** **\- Oswald was fun to write for but I really didn't see any more character development for him which is why he is gone so soon. He was a great tribute but I just couldn't justify keeping him in longer than some of the others especially with a broken foot. Rest in peace ozzy!**

 **18th: Maret Wenling- Killed by Cecily Prane-** **Maret was such a great tribute and his from was one that I really liked a lot. But I didn't know how to develop him any further either so it's nothing personal. He was so much fun to write but he started to become hard for me to write. Thanks so much for submitting him!**

 **Alliance update:**

 **Hot mess express: Cierra, Ciara, Noah.**

 **District fun?: Claudio and Adaira**

 **Brenna: Bryce and Kenna**

 **Smol bbys: Erika. Cecily, Tannin, Jayson**

 **Random but I like it: Hannale and Tessa.**

 **I just love them: Rhiannon, Olivia and Jake.**

 **He high key scares me: Pency.**

 **What did y'all think?**

 **Thought on the arena so far?**

 **Who do you want to go far?**

 **Also, shout out to Florence+ the machine for all the song lyrics in this chapter because they are my latest obsession.**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	23. Day one: Part Two

_I am restless, and I keep trembling_

 _Everyone watch me as I descend_

 _Into a feeling that's overwhelming me_

 _I finally stopped, stopped making sense_

 _I can't stop talking to myself, I'm a desperate cry for help._

* * *

 **Rhiannon Hughes, 15.**

 **District four female.**

"Riley is gone, stop screaming. It's going to be okay." Olivia's words have been echoing in my head for the past twenty four hours.

I was angry at first, screaming and crying. I couldn't stop.

"Olivia and Jake wrapped me up into an embrace and just held me still until all my screams were let out. Now, my throat just feels scratchy and hot.

Now I don't feel anything at all. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm numb.

"Are you okay?" Jake says sitting down next to me.

It hurts to talk, it hurts to breath and to be honest it just hurts to exist without my twin.

"I'm fine." I say taking my knees in my arms and slowly rocking back and forth.

"You don't look fine.." he says.

I give him a look out of the corner of my eye and will him to stop speaking to me. He puts his hands out in front of him and surrenders.

"I am going to kill her, I swear on it." I whisper to Jake.

"Rhiannon, we need to be smart about all this. You know Olivia and I will be here for you. But don't make any rash decisions right now."

"I guess you're right.." I say flatly.

"I'm going to go get Olivia, we were safe here for a while but I don't trust Cierra not to come back. We should probably move somewhere else so do whatever you need to do to prepare yourself, Rhiannon."

Jake runs his hand through his brown hair and then down his face. I can tell he is thinking that I am just going to drag them down now and I'm afraid that he might be right. Riley was always the one who made me strong, without him I am just a scared and weak fifteen year old girl who uses puzzles to ease her social anxiety.

I close my eyes and lean back against the sky blue rocks.

"You aren't weak. Get up." Riley's voice jolts my eyes open.

He's there, in front of me.

"Riley!" I shout.

"Get it together Rhi, mom and dad need you." he says looking annoyed.

"Riley.. Are you feeling okay, you don't look so good." I tell him tilting my head to the left.

"What are you talking about? I feel great!" he says.

He is lying just to make me feel better. I can tell that he doesn't feel well. His face looks sunken in and he has purple bags under his eyes. He looks tired.

"The cancer is getting worse, isn't it?" I ask feeling tears start to form behind my eyelids.

"No, Rhiannon. I'm okay!" he says getting annoyed.

"Fine, but if you start getting sick just tell me and we can stop walking. Jake and Olivia think we need to move so Cierra doesn't….." I start.

I watched Cierra kill my brother… So how is he standing in front of me having a conversation right now. His blood was on my hands. I watched him die.

"What's wrong Rhi?" he asks coming up behind me.

I turn around wide eyed.

"You.. You died." I tell him.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here. Are you having nightmares again?" he asks.

His face is even more sunken in and now his skin has a greyish tone to it. He really must not feel well.

"I guess so… Come on then. Jake and Olivia will get angry if we keep them waiting." I tell him.

"Are you ready?" Olivia asks with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, we're ready." I say.

"We?" asks Jake raising his eyebrow.

"Riley really isn't feeling well today, so we might want to take it easy on him." I tell them matter of factly.

"Rhiannon.. What are you talking about?" Olivia asks pulling her red hair into a ponytail and fixing her bangs.

"I'm saying that he is sick If we need to stop and let him rest we should, right Ri-" I turn around to get affirmation from my brother but he isn't there.

"Where did he go?" I scream.

"Riley?! He was right there!" I shout as tears start falling from my eyes.

"Oh, Rhiannon. Come here." Olivia pulls me into a hug but I fight it.

"He was right there.. I promise." I whisper looking around.

He isn't anywhere in sight.. Where did he go? Is he coming back?

"We need to find him. He is sick, he doesn't feel well!" I shout as they pull me away from the clearing with the bright blue rocks.

* * *

 _Let's make a mess_

 _Steal a kiss in the moment_

 _You and me_

 _Everything that could be_

 _Touch, don't go_

 _Stay as long as you like_

 _Let's get reckless_

 _Dance with our hands to the beat_

 _Don't let this slip through our fingers_

 _It feels insane_

 _Don't you put up a fight_

* * *

 **Bryce Constantin, 17.**

 **District 5 male.**

"Are you really fixing your hair right now?" Kenna asks me with a very annoyed look on her face.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I guess it's just a habit." I say chuckling.

Kenna found me shortly after we were launched and we have been walking for what feels like forever. Our strategy is to play nice at least until the top ten but of course we would kick ass if needed.

"I am so tired and I really just want a big bag of potato chips." she says and I laugh.

"Well, unfortunately I don't think we will be finding any of those here." I tell her and she sticks her lower lip out before laughing.

"You never know, I just saw a bush growing teacups." she says.

"That's true. I don't think we should eat anything we see though, I can almost guarantee you that it's a trap." I tell her checking her out as she walks.

"What kind of cruel arena is this anyways? You can't put a girl in a stressful situation and put chocolate in front of her just to tell her that if she eats the chocolate, she might die." she jokes.

Kenna stops. I look around her and see a beautiful green landscape. There is a crystal clear lake and a bubbling waterfall. These weird bird things are flying overhead dropping gumdrops into the green grass which at a better glance, looks like licorice. Kenna walks over to a clearing in between the trees and directly across from the waterfall and sits. I walk up to her and sit down next to her. She gives me a look out of the corner of her eye and scoots away. I smooth my hair, straighten my clothes and think of all the ways my parents with criticize me, if I get out of here.

"Stop fixing your hair, you are on my last damn nerve with that." she smiles.

"Sorry, it's a habit, back at home, everything had to be perfect all the time." I tell her.

"Your parents, they were pretty strict, huh?" she asks with a slight look of sympathy on her face.

"You have no idea. My brother was a problem child. He was really into partying and he gave our family a bad reputation even after my parents worked so hard for a good one. After he died, I kind of took up the job of helping re-establish our family name. I am the golden child whether I like it or not." I tell her scrunching up my face.

She laughs but nods her head and takes her lower lip in between her teeth.

"I think I understand that more than you might think. My dad wants everthing to be perfect. So much so, that he never lets us decide things for ourselves. He thinks he knows best so basically it's his way or the high way. My sisters are strangely okay with that. They like having their entire lifes handed to them on silver platters. I, however; do not. I like to push the limits and see what I can get away with." she winks mischeviously.

"And how does your father feel about that?" I ask her.

"I mean, he isn't a fan. I'm not going to let someone else live my life for me though. I'm only seventeen. I have so much more living to do." she says suddenly looking sad.

"I get that. Unfortunate cimrumsances." I rub her shoulder and she smiles.

"So, you are telling me that you've never done anything fun for the fear of upseting your parents?" she asks making a funny face at me.

"That would be an accurate statement. It's not that I haven't wanted too, my parents have just been through enough and I didn't want to make anything worse for them." I tell her looking down.

Kenna looks around and then abruptly stands up. She takes her braid and lets her brown hair loose. She throws her bag on the ground and slips out of the black boots she had on. She runs down to the clear water and sticks her foot in.

"Kenna, be careful!" I say giving her a strange look.

"Bryce, I'm not stupid. Thats why I put my foot in first. Shoes off. Come." she motions for me to join her.

I kick my shoes off and walk down to the water. Kenna laughs and then pushes me into the water before jumping in herself.

"What the hell!? Kenna you are insane." I say as she comes back up laughing.

"Bryce, we are in the hunger games. This could be your last chance to live as ironic as that sounds. Just enjoy it." her green eyes shine with excitement as she swims over and dunks me under the icy blue water.

"You are crazy." I say splashing her.

"Don't call me that, I'm just helping you live your life." She swims up to me and messes up my hair.

"Don't you dare fix that again either." she says looking up at me.

I can't help what I'm about to do. If she wants me to live so bad, I will. I lean in and kiss her. She kisses me back for a few seconds, running her tiny hands through my hair before pulling away. Her eyes get wide and she looks upset.

"Bryce.. We can't do thi-" she starts but an aarow interupts her, striking the water directly besides her.

"Kenna! Are you okay?" I ask looking around.

"I'm fine! But I don't have anything to protect-" a second arrow flies through the air.

"Can you hold your breath?" I ask her

"Uh yes." she says with a hit on panic in her voice.

"Get under water and swim that way. Stay down for as long as you can."

"No, let me help you." She pleads.

"Kenna, our bags are too far. Go under. Now." I tell her.

she nods her head, rolls her eyes and goes under.

I quickly swim to the shore and grab the set of three knives from my bag. An arrow shoots by me and the girl from eleven emerges from behind the trees.

"You know, you really suck at that." I tell her throwing a knife. It barely misses her.

She laughs.

"You know, for a predicted victor, you sure aren't very good." she says snidely while walking closer to me.

"Aren't you missing the rest of your lollipop guild, you strange midget? I ask her throwing a second knife with all my force. The knife lands in her eye. She screams in pain and falls to her knees.

She is still but just when I think she is dead, she reaches up, pulls the knife out of her eye causing blood to fall down her face. She runs at me and throws the knife but it misses and lands behind me.

"Bryce!" Kenna runs up from behind me and throws me the knife before sprinting over to where we left out bags to search for a weapon of her own.

"You are going to regret that." She says.

She is small but she is oddly strong.

"No, I think you will." I say sending the knife into her other eye squeezing her neck. Her feet are kicking so I squeeze harder and eventually she just stops moving.

BOOM.

Kenna's hand is over her mouth as she runs up next to me.

"Are you okay?! You should have let me help you... I could have taken that audacious blonde midget." she says.

"Kenna.. Just say thank you." I tell her while collecting my knives.

"Come on, let's go." I wrap my arm around her shoulders but she pulls away.

"Look at you, living and stuff." she says as she throws her bag over her shoulder and tightens her wet hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and takes the lead.

* * *

 _In the dark, it's getting hard to breathe_

 _Suffocating, somethings wrong_

 _I feel so incomplete_

 _They stop and stare_

 _And try to drag us down_

 _Light the fuse_

 _Fip the switch_

 _Baby, hold your ground._

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16.**

 **District 12 female.**

Asher and Hannale. Ashley. I have a daughter named Ashley. A piece of me and a piece of someone else. I don't think that I will ever be able to wrap my mind around that.

"Are you okay? You completely zoned out." Tessa says as I continue wrapping her hand up in a ripped portion of her shirt.

"I'm fine. Okay, so did we learn our lesson? Leave the agressive talking flowers alone." I giggle.

"Yeah, I guess so." she smiles and tucks a piece of her blonde hair behind her ears.

Tessa and I found a small cottage that resembles a gingerbread house. There is nothing inside the cottage besides the reminants of charred floral wallapaper. It looks like something bad happened here but it's better than nothing. We probably won't be able to stay here the whole time but for right now, it's perfect.

"You.. You said the name Ashley when you just did that weird zoning out thing?" she looks at me quizzically.

"Ashley is ... a baby. I guess technically she is my baby." "I say looking down.

"Oh my goodness. I am so sorry, that must have been so terrible to leave her behind." Tessa says placing her arm on my shoulder.

"I have never met her.. I just got to see her from behind a glass window and then she was wisked away and I was made to recover quickly and then go train. I still haven't wrapped my mind around the whole thing to be quite honest." I say trying not to cry.

If there is one thing people should know about me, is that I am a boss ass bitch. I don't cry unless it's absolutely necessary. The things that I have been through in my life have made me comfortably numb and I am okay with that. It makes life easier. However, nine months worth of hormones in less than twenty-four hours has turned me into somewhat of a little baby. Everything is making me tear up and it's driving me fucking insane.

"Awh, Hannale. I am so sorry, that must be so hard." She says wrapping me in a hug.

"You know, I lost everything during the dark days. My family, my friends and just essentially my entire life. You are lucky to have a family that cares about you." She smiles.

"You don't know shit about my family. So don't talk about it." I says sharply and Tessas eyes widen.

"Look, I'm sorry." I tell her realizing that it wasn't her fault that she didn't know. These hormones are making me even bitchier than normal and I didn't know that was even possible.

"I didn't have much of a family. My parents used to beat me and my siblings and they even basically killed my little sister." I say this time giving into the tears.

"I have never liked the idea of family and I always told myself that I would never be a part of one again. Until I saw Ashley, in the capitol. Now, I have never wanted anything more." I say looking away at the burnt wallpaper.

"Hannale, don't be afraid. If you make it out of here, you are going to be the best mother. I just know it." She smiles.

"And how could you possibly know that?" I ask her trying to surpress the pain that I am feeling.

"The way you wrapped my hand so carefully. You were humming and comforting and you just had a gentle touch." she says taking my hand in hers.

"We;re gonna stick together and get as far as possible. We are gonna figure this whole thing out." Tess says.

"Fair warning, I've never really been good at this whole friend thing though. I only kept a couple close ones back at home." I tell her.

"I've spent most of my life alone, so it'll be something for us both to work at." She smiles.

A friend. In the hunger games, what a strange concept. I blame the hormones, they are making me soft.

"Can we make a deal though?" she asks.

"Well, that depends on if I like what comes out of your mouth next or not." I tell her preparing for the worst.

"Can we take out that creepy vampire as our first duty of this frienship?" She smiles.

"Tessa, I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful, very strange friendship." I tell her.

"Agreed." She says.

"Let's get some rest.. We should go track down Pency tomorrow, he will be tough to take down, but we could totally do it." I tell her pulling a blanket out of my pack.

"Hey Hannale?" her voice makes me open my eyes.

"What's up?" I ask her rolling over.

"Since we are friends now, should we like make a handshake or something" she asks smiling.

"Never speak again." I tell her

We both laugh so hard until we can't breathe.

Eventually all the noise fades and I am left alone with my thoughts.

Ashley needs me and I have a new found motivation to get home.

I look over at Tessa and wish that the circumstances could be different.

* * *

 _"There you go, go looking for a fight._

 _I've got a heart of steel_

 _You can't cut and bleed me dry._

 _My secrets, you can never keep_

 _so don't expect to see_

 _see me waiting here to be_

 _Be your wondergirl"_

* * *

 **Erika Ryner, 13.**

 **District 5 female.**

I can't help but feel that our alliance is already falling apart. Nothing is going right. I have a freaking arrow in my leg for crying out loud.

It hurts so bad but I don't want to make a noise or move for fear that it will upset one of the other tributes.

Cecily hasn't spoken since she killed Maret, she has kept her arms crossed and let tears fall from her permanently widened eyes. Tannin has been trying to make jokes, hug her and comfort her in any way that he can, but nothing is working. She looks empty and frozen.

I am taking shallow breaths and then alternating to deep breaths to take my focus off of the pain but it isn't working. I am going to die. I can't fight someone off with an arrow sticking out of my leg. Jayson is sitting down with Cecily and Tannin trying to snap Cecily out of her funk but it doesn't seem to be working so I need to take matters into my own hands.

I reach down and snap the arrow in half.

I try hard to surpress my screams but it hurt so bad that I couldn't contain it anymore. I let out a high pitched screetch. I don't know if the noise that I just emmited even actually happened that pain has made my brain fuzzy.

Tannin runs over to me.

"Just hold on for one more minute. She will know what to do!" He smiles reassuringly.

That is the thing about Tannin, he has the sweetest heart and it shows. He cares about people genuinely and just being in his presense makes things better.

Tannin runs back over to Cecily more frantic this time.

I am holding my leg and biting down on the piece of the arrow that I snapped off when a ball hits me in my good leg.

It obvioulsy has the ability to open so I crack the ball in half and inside is a leaf.

"What the heck am I supposed to do with this?! I cry flailing the leaf around in the air.

"I drag myself a few feet over to where my allies are sitting and show them.

''Wait.." Cecily speaks her first words in hours.

"Erika, I need you to bite down on that stick really hard. Tannin hold her left hand. Jayson you get the right one. This is going to hurt." she says in a flat tone.

"You're not going to pull that out, are you?!" Jayson squeaks looking queasy.

"That is exactly what we are going to do. Ready, Erika?" Cecily tries to smile at me but I can tell it is forced. I really do appreciate her efforts to try and pretend that she is okay.

It's comforting to see a smile when I feel like my world is about to end.

"Tell me something you like. Where is your happy place?" Cecily asks me.

I close my eyes.

"I am on a beach. I am sipping a pink lemonade with one of those orange umbrellas sticking out of the side. My feet are in the water and there is sand crunching inbetween my toes. The ocean breeze is blowing m hair and-" Everything goes black.

When I wake up, my leg is completely fine. There is a small mark where the arrow entered my leg but the wound is closed and it just looks like an old scar.

"What happened?" I ask surprised.

"The leaf." Cecily says examing my leg.

"It was a healing leaf." She says pulling my pant leg down and tossing my boot back at me.

"How... how did you know what to do with it?" I ask her surprised.

"Spending a lot of time in the woods has it's advantages I guess." She says examining her light brown hair.

"Thank you, Cecily." I smile at her.

"Don't mention it.." she says looking away quickly.

"We should probably start heading out. Erika's screams have probably alerted the others that we are near by and the last thing we need is another incident today. I can't take it." Cecily says looking off into the distance and locking arms with Tannin.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Jayson says running ahead.

I roll my eyes and laugh.

Tannin and Cecily are walking ahead and Jayson is in front of them. Even though my leg is healed, I am being catious still.

We come to a big open landscape and a River that appears to be made out of chocolate. Interesting. I am pretty sure I have painted this exact landscape before. Thinking about painting brings a smile back to my face.

Tannins face lights up and for a split second, it's like all of us are just children again. This would have been my dream when I was little.

"This is weak." Jayson says laughing.

"Jayson, it's not something to joke about." Tannin warns him.

"I'm serious bro, these game makers suck. You think they might have been able to come up with somethng a little bit more intimidating." Jayson giggles.

I can't tell if he is delirious or just being an ass.

"Jayson, it's cool!" I tell him.

"Yeah, maybe if you are five. Tyson's gamemakers were way more talented. When there is no one arounf to kill you, this place is like paradise. Way to go, Panem." he spins in circles and laughs.

The chocolate river starts to bubble and rise slowly.

"Cecily, Tannin get back." I tell them and they start to retreat.

"Come on, Jayson. We need to go the other way!" Tannin shouts.

"Oh, no! Chocolae river. That is soo terrifying." he walks closer and closer to the river.

"Come on Jayson, it't not funny anymore! Let's go." I scream.

The chocolate river makes a loud gurgling sound expands to almost twice it's size in an instant sucking Jayson underneath.

"Jayson!" Cecily screams trying to run towards the river but me and Tanin hold her back.

It seems like its been forever when finally the chocolate river recedes.

Jayson's body floats to the top and we all run over to see if he is okay.

His body is scorched and burned and his skin is bubbling.

"Oh my gosh, Jayson. Why couldn't you have listened." tell him with tears falling down my face.

"You weren't bigger than the hunger games." Tannin says sounding equally as devestated.

"Did I do it?" he says inbetween shallow breaths.

"Did I win?" he asks.

"You won, Jayson. You did it!" Cecily says with tears forming behind her eyes too.

"I knew I could-" His head falls to the side.

BOOM.

The sky lights up and the faces of the four tributes that were lost today are put on display.

 _Oswald Preston_

 _Maret Wenling_

 _Ciara Kelsall_

 _Jayson Faller._

This is so unfair. This is definitely not anything that I would have ever imagined. I just want to go home. Cecily takes me in her arms and just lets me weep.

* * *

 **Hey guys! :)**

 **So, I am currently on vacation in Florida but I brought my laptop so that I could update as much as I could this week. So, be expecting a few more chapters this week. :) I love writing by the pool so it's def going to be a thing.**

 **Anyways. I loved this chapter and it was so much fun to write, but also so hard because I love all the tributes so much.**

 **17th place- Ciara Kelsall- killed by Bryce Constantin: Cloe, thank you so much for taking the time to submit to my story. Ciara was such a cool tribute and I really enjoyed her spunky attitude. She was so fun. Thanks girl. Please don't hate me :P**

 **16th place- Jayson Faller- Killed but Chocolate river Mutt- I loved Jayson. He was so much fun to write. His crazy confidence and his arrogance definitely tested my writing skills. Jayson was way to arrogant to be a victor and I feel like he lived in a fantasy land. He was a delight so thank you so much for submitting him!**

 **Thoughts?**

 **Anyone that you are sad to see gone?**

 **Favorites?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	24. Day two: Part one

_So sad, you're hurt_

 _Boo hoo. Oh, did you expect me to care?_

 _You don't deserve my tears_

 _I guess that's why they aint there._

* * *

 **Cierra Hart, 18.**

 **District 3 female.**

Eight cannons have gone off so far. Eight people have died. I think we all knew that I wouldn't be one of them. I'm Cierra freaking Hart. Eight less people to worry about. I just wish the last fifteen would drop like the annoying flies that they are. Besides Noah. I would like him to stick around for awhile.

Normally. Seeing people die would completely tear me apart inside. But these people suck and they honestly aren't dying fast enough. I just want to get home. I am missing Panem's next top model and that all on it's own is absolutely infuriating. When I get out of here, that will be me on that show. Fierce and strong.

Noah has been pretty upset since we saw Ciara's picture in the sky. Honestly though, what do you expect when you wander off into the woods alone. I mean, I did it too but I'm me so obviously I made it back. Noah and I made our way back to the place with the bright blue rocks in hopes that the weakling that I took out yesterday's sister would still be here. It's empty though so we decided to sleep here last night.

"Wake the fuck up." I say throwing a small rock at Noah's head.

He groans and runs his hands through his dark hair. He has been a little bit cranky since that blonde bitch left. I didn't run her off. She just couldn't take all this to be honest. Not that I can blame her.

"You need to calm down." he says sleepily.

"Come on, Loverboy. I don't just want to sit here anymore. Let's go out and find people." I whine.

"I asked you not to call me that. Cierra, we need to lay low for awhile. I'm sure we are targets now and the last thing we need is to be ambushed." he says.

"Ugh. I'm bored here lover- I mean Noah." I say twirling my hair.

"What the hell happened to you." he asks sitting up and scooting slightly away from me.

"What does that mean?" I ask him offended.

"The Cierra that I see now and the Cierra that came into my room crying on the train are two completely different people. I honestly don't like this Cierra at all." he says with his face in his hands.

"Noah, this is the hunger games, you idiot. I can't be all up in my feelings. These people are peasants and I don't need to be sad that they are dying. I want to go home. Do you get that?" I ask him growing more and more frustrated by the minute.

"They are still people Cierra. I know that you want to go home. Don't you think that we all do?" He asks me with a wild look in his eyes.

"I mean, It's not like you have a very nice home life to go home to anyways, Lover boy. Maybe if you make it home daddy won't hate you anymore." The words sting as they leave my lips and I almost wish that I could take them back. Almost.

"You are a messed up person Cierra, and you should struggle with liking who you are because you are honestly not a nice person. You are actually vile and I am regretting this whole alliance." he says laying back down and rolling over.

I sit up and think about everything that has left my mouth in the past twenty minutes and start feeling hot. Maybe Noah is right. I got so caught up in trying to get home that I have been treating people like shit. Especially him. He is the only person that I have ever opened up to and I am treating him like dirt.

"Noah.." I say.

"What Cierra." he says bluntly.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just have had to make myself numb due to the circumstances we are in. I really don't want to see people dying but I want to get out of here too." I say lightly hoping that my cute eyes will make him forgive me.

"I get that. But what are you going to do if it is just us in the final two, Cierra. Then what?" He asks me looking either upset or extremely annoyed.

"Obviously I would kill you." I tell him honestly.

"You are unbelievable." he says shaking his head.

"You are saying that you wouldn't kill me? You're a liar." I say flipping my hair.

"Go to sleep. I have had enough of you today." He says.

I roll my eyes and lay back. I close my eyes and feel myself starting to drift off. I don't know how long I was out for but I am startled by hands around my throat. Noah has his knees on my arms and is straddling my body. His hands are gripped tight around my throat are are pressing harder and harder with every breath that tries to escape my lips.

"I don't trust you." he says angrily.

I manage to shift my body weight and kick him off of me. I dive for the knife that I have in my pack and turn around but I can't see him. All I see is the glow of the blue rocks.

"Noah. This isn't funny you literal nut job." I say in between gasps for air.

I stand in the middle of the area and spin in slow circles.

"You dumb bitch." Noah jumps on my back sending me flying forward into one of the glowing rocks.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. Dumb. Lover. Boy." I say angrily.

Noah once again wraps his fingers around my throat. I quickly turn around while I still can and kick him in his groin as hard as I can. He falls to the ground and cries out in pain. His head is down in agony and I see my chance. I take the knife from my belt loop and send it into his neck. Blood squirts everywhere. His hands fly to his neck and he looks up at me.

"You should hate yourself." he whispers.

I toss my hair.

"I hope you rot in the pits of hell." he spits before falling over.

BOOM.

I watch Noah's breathing still and my eyes get hot.

He tried to kill me. He wanted me gone. Noah strangled me.

Tears fall from my eyes. I open up to someone and they try to kill me. Maybe I do need to make some changes.

I quickly wipe my tears and remind myself who I am.

I am Cierra Hart and I do NOT cry.

A sinking feeling makes itself at home in my stomach as I realize that I am all alone.

* * *

 _Where is your commitment_

 _Your sense of loyalty_

 _You broke your honor_

 _Your credibility_

 _Standing tall_

 _Despite the rest_

 _Positive_

 _Do your best_

* * *

 **Claudio Sterling, 18.**

 **District 1 male.**

Something that I don't tell people a lot, is that despite my seemingly remorseless nature, I am a very loyal person. If I tell you that I am going to do something, you better believe that I am going to do it. I don't like letting the people I care about down.

Of course, If I don't know you though, I will let you down no problem. I seem to be good at that.

I went into this thinking that Hadley and I would stick together as long as we could even if she was so annoying that I wanted to rip my hair out. I told her I would stick with her and I fully planned on it but then she had to go and die. I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I went into the games with Hadley and then I was alone. I now have Adaira on my side but she is quiet so I don't know how to read her. She seems nice enough and I know she is strong.

"Are you doing okay?" Adaira comes up behind me and places her hand on my shoulder.

"I think, I am. At least for right now." I tell her.

Ever since we ate the chocolate from the chocolate river, something hasn't been right with our insides so to speak. We spend almost an entire day vomiting and it really took a toll on our strength.

"You know, One time I went three whole months without eating." I grab onto my stomach for added effect.

She smiles.

"I don't believe that for one second." She says smiling.

"Good, you shouldn't." I tell her laying back.

"We should probably keep walking if we want to make sure we are safe tonight." she tells me.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. Let's roll." I say.

We don't move far until we find an area in the purple trees that grow everything. It is secluded and safe and we decide to stay here.

Adaira sits down and hugs herself.

"You know, one time-" I start.

"Don't even start." She giggles.

"How did you know that I was going to lie?" I ask her.

"Your lips were moving." she winks.

"So, tell me. Why do you lie so much?" she asks me tilting her head to the left.

"I guess I just grew up around it. My mom wasn't the best role model." I say.

I have never talked about this with anyone before and I'm not sure why I trust this strange blonde chick, but I do. She seems nice. Too nice and her smile is comforting, which is something that I haven't felt in awhile.

She nods looking unsure.

"She would lie to my dad and to other people all the time to get what she wanted. She had no problem using people and making up these intricate webs of lies to get her where she needed to be. I watched her doing this from a really young age and I guess I just caught on." I tell her.

"Wow, that's intense." she says.

"I am an excellent liar. I have never not been able to get what I wanted and thanks to my ability to come up with a believable lie off the top of my head and my above average acting skills, I have always gotten what I wanted." I tell her.

"And you never feel bad about that?" She asks me.

"No, I guess not." I tell her.

"You know, I have always thought that working hard for what you wanted was the only way to go. I don't know if I would ever be able to lie straight to someone's face without feeling bad about it." she says.

"Yeah, I can tell." I joke.

"What about your dad?" she asks.

"My dad is the best man I know. He has the best heart of anyone I've ever met. He just isn't very brave. He would never stick up to my mother. My dad is my best friend… I miss him." I say suddenly flooded with emotions

"I know what you mean. I miss my dad every day of my life." she says.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"I like to think he is in heaven." she says.

"I'm so sorry." I say looking down.

"It's fine. I know he would be proud." she says smiling.

"Good attitude. Wish I could stay the same." I say.

"Claudio, I bet your dad is so proud of you. It sounds like he loves you a lot." she says.

"He does. I just wish I could make him more proud." I tell her.

"It's never too late to turn your life around. For what it's worth, I think your a great person. You might not want to show it but I can see it." She smiles.

"Thank you Adaira." I say giving her a look.

."You know,since you like to lie and steal you should work on stealing his heart." She laughs at her own joke.

"Exit." I tell her pointing to the trees and joining in on her laughter.

* * *

 _So the leaves are all dead in this broken man's June_

 _The rain will still fall on the sunny afternoon_

 _He stares at the floor, no more to roam_

 _He's slowly finding a way back home_

* * *

 **Tannin Jimenez, 14.**

 **District 7 male.**

"You shouldn't beat yourself up Cecily. He wasn't going to listen to anyone." I tell her trying to get her to smile.

My whole life, people have looked down on me because I am young. It makes no sense to me though. The young people are the ones that are going to change the world one day. Love and Kindness and a little bit of joyfulness could make Panem better. I know it.

"I know, Tannin. It's just hard to process all of this." Cecily says wiping tears away.

"Cecily, why are your tears falling from the sky?" Erika asks looking up?

Cecily, Erika and I all look up and water hits me right in between the eyes.

"Is it raining?!" Cecily shouts with a hint of a smile on her face.

"It looks like it is!" I shout.

Some of my favorite memories are in the rain. I like the way it falls. My brother and I would always go out and play and splash around in it. He would run and jump in a puddle and murky water would cover my entire body but I didn't care because we were having fun. Something that seems so hard to do these days. Rain is like a fresh start every time. It washes away the old not so happy parts of the previous week, month or even year and replaces it with a fresh opportunity for life, love and happiness.

"Do you know what this means?" I shout with the biggest smile on my face.

"That it's raining?" Erika asks and then giggles.

"No! This is our fresh start. New opportunities." I say ecstatically.

Cecily wrinkles her brow and chuckles.

"Are you feeling okay, Tannin?" she inquires.

"I'm great, I'm fine!" I say looking around as the rain falls down.

One time, when I was delivering food to the workers, it started to rain and I've never seen so many happy people. A break from work and a chance to pretend like troubles don't exist and just splash around in puddles for a little bit. Playing in the rain in timeless.

"Let's go!" I shout.

I just want to forget who I am, where I am and what I'm doing here. I grab Cecily's hands and pull her up off of the ground. She playfully rolls her eyes but she does follow me and that is what matters to me.

I run and jump with all my force into a puddle sending a giant wave of water behind me and drenching Cecily.

"Tannin! Are you crazy?!" she asks looking down at her now soaked black outfit.

I can't help but start laughing. I laugh so hard that I can't breathe. It's like all the laughs that have been pushed aside and prevented in the past few months have been let loose. I can't control the eruption of laughter that is leaving my mouth. For the first time in a long time, I am fourteen year old Tannin. Tannin that is at home playing with frogs and making people laugh. Tannin that looks around the room at dinner just basking in the love of my family. Not Tannin who is being forced to fight to survive. Not scared and alone Tannin.

I look up at the rain and let is splash my face.

Cecily jumps into a puddle soaking me and she is laughing hard now too. Erika is standing under a tree laughing but she refuses to come out and get wet.

"Thank you Tannin." Cecily pulls me into a tight hug and spins me around in circles.

"For what?" I ask her laughing.

"Your bright personality makes home feel not so far away." she smiles.

"Don't mention it." I tell her.

"Come on, Let's get out of the rain before we both get sick." I tell her running over to the tree where Erika is standing.

We are standing under the tree discussing our next strategy when hands come from in between the trees and pull Cecily in.

"What the heck!" Erika screams and backs away.

"Don't just stand there! Come on, that is CECILY!" I scream and run into the trees. '

Branches prick at my skin but I push through. When I finally stop and get my surroundings in check, the creepy boy from nine has her on the ground. He is crushing her throat with his foot and tears prick my eyes. At least I think it's tears, the rain is coming down harder now.

I run at Pency with all my might and knock him off of Cecily.

"Cecily run to Erika!" I scream at her.

She stands up and starts to run but she stops.

"I'm not leaving you." she runs at Pency and punches him hard. He reaches back and with one swift punch knocks her to the ground. I jump on his back and dig my fingers into his eyes hoping to disorient him for a few minutes so that we can get away. He falls to his knees and rubs his eyes.

"Cecily go!" I shout.

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." I tell her with a nod.

Cecily looks at with pain all over her face and runs through the pink and purple trees. The rain is coming down in sheets now and I can't see. I get up and start to run when hands drag me down into the colorful mud.

"Pency reaches down and grabs a hold of my neck. He snaps my neck in one swift motion and then runs off.

Things start to get blurry and I can't stop shivering. The rain is falling off of my body and my vision starts to get hazy.

I am not stupid I know what's happening.

"I'm free. No more suffering… no more pain. I… won't ever be alone again. Im free and Cecily is safe.. I saved her life.. I won."

The feeling of exhaustion wins and takes over my whole body. My eyes close and everything goes dark. The last thing I hear, is the pitter patter of the raindrops.

BOOM.

* * *

 **Hiiii.**

 **I'm sad. I don't want to kill anymore tributes but the show must go on lol.**

 **Sorry that this chapter was a little bit shorter and that it took me so long to get up, that won't happen again.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **15th place:** **Noah Blakemore: Killed by Cierra Hart. Noah was so fun and he was such a great guy. I really didn't even plan on this happening but once I started writing, this is what came out. Rest in peace sweet baby Noah. I needed to develop Cierra's character so this is what had to go down.**

 **14th place:** **Tannin Jimenez: Killed by Pency Skewer. I AM SO SAD. I loved Tannin so much. He was honestly one of my favorite tributes to write for. He was so happy had such a great and youthful spirit. I really didn't know what I was going to do in this chapter and this is what happened. Tannin died protecting his friend which is who he was. I am going to miss writing him a lot. Thank you so so so much to his submitter. I'm so sorry he had to die.**

 **What did y'all think?**

 **Who is your favorite tribute that is left?**

 **Sad to see anyone go?**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	25. Day two: Part two

_Don't know just where I'm going_

 _And tomorrow, it's a little overwhelming_

 _And the air is cold_

 _And I'm not the same anymore_

 _I've been running in your direction_

 _For too long now_

 _I've lost my own reflection_

 _And I can't look down._

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **District 8 female.**

When I was growing up, I always heard people say that life was like a roller coaster. There was always going to be ups and downs. But they always said the ride was going to be worth it. When you get off the roller coaster, you want to be able to look back and make sure that you had a good time.

I feel like I'm stuck on my roller coaster and there is no way to get off. Lately, there has only been uphill battles and extremely steep since the night that I helped Hilda take care of her little problem, I don't know if I've been the same. I am not going to sit and wallow in self pity though. I love my life. My life has been great and I have it better than most people. I laugh and I have fun and I smile. But that all seems really superficial lately.

I watched my sisters get everything they could have possibly imagined handed to them for a small price, their lives. They had to give up their lives and marry someone that they might not have really wanted to just to they could continue to have a nice life and so that my dad could continue to climb the social ladder. I'm not sure of a lot of things in life, but I am certain that that is not a fate that I will accept lightly. There has to be more to life than just surviving. I want to live.

"Are you okay, Kenna?" Bryce asks me looking concerned.

"I'm fine, what makes you think that I wouldn't be?" I ask him trying to straighten my facial expression. I've never been good at controlling those.

"I've never seen you look how you look right now… you look.. Drained?" he seems to be walking on eggshells.

"Wow. Thanks Bryce." I joke and gather my hair into my hands piling it into a low bun that rests on the side of my head.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that." he says.

"I just meant that you look distracted. Not yourself today." he says with a genuine look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine, really. I just have a lot on my mind." I tell him.

"Care to share?" he pats the pink pavement next to him.

I give him a hesitant look but I walk over and plop down.

"What is going on?" he asks patting my leg.

I take his hand off my leg and return it to his knee where it belongs. He gives me a look but doesn't move it back.

"I'm just lost." I tell him.

"What do you mean? We aren't even lost." he says looking around.

"No, me. I don't know who I am.." I say and my voice breaks but I hold back my tears.

"You are Kenna Rockwall. Did you eat something funky? Are you sick?" his eyes gets wide as he looks me over.

I reach over and smack him in the back of the head.

"Bryce. I'm serious. My whole life people have told me who and how to be. I'm afraid that once I'm on my own, I will not know what to do because I don't know who I really am." My eyes water to the brink of my eyelids but I don't want to let them fall.

"Kenna. That's the beauty of life. You get to choose who you want to be. Well, I don't but you do. You have nothing holding you back." he says scooting closer.

"I just want to be Kenna. I don't want to have to be this or that. I am so scared of being trapped. I don't want to be a bargain wife. I want to live not just survive Bryce. What if I chose my own fate, but then I'm still not happy?" I ask him.

"Kenna, don't doubt yourself for one second. If you aren't happy, you change it. If you make it out of here, I have no doubt that you are going to be happy. You are beautiful, strong, smart, sassy and stubborn as hell. That will get you far. You will make some man very happy." he says and I roll my eyes.

"I don't need a man. I can be happy all on my own. If I ever decide that I do want a man, I will choose him, not my father." I say matter of factly.

"Atta girl." he smiles.

I lay back and look up at where the clouds should be.

"This is my life, I will take charge of it." I whisper more to try and convince myself.

I push back all my hesitations and negative emotions and collect myself. If I am going to have a shot at true happiness, I need to pull myself back together and focus on getting home.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I will be." I smile.

Bryce leans in and is intercept his face with my hand.

"Listen, I'm sorry about the other day in the water. I just wanted you to let loose and have fun but we can't do this." I tell him with a smile.

"You're right, it's not smart." he says.

"Exactly."

"Friends?" he asks holding his hand out.

"Friends." I say giving him a high five.

Bryce starts fidgeting and twirling his thumbs.

"You can fix your hair. I know it's killing you inside." I laugh at him.

"Very funny, Kenna." he shoves me to the side playfully as we gather our things and get ready to go.

Maybe life is like a rollercoaster. Ups. Downs. Twists. Turns. Maybe I'll never know what's around the corner but if I don't fight and give it my all to find out, I'll never forgive myself.

* * *

 _One way or another_

 _I'm gonna find ya_

 _I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha_

 _One way or another._

* * *

 **Theresa "Tessa" Cowell, 18.**

 **District 10 female.**

"He looks like he's been dead for a million and a half years." I say and Hannale giggles.

"He really does and he has got to go. The last thing that I n beed is to be eaten alive when I am trying to sleep." she says with a Shudder.

"He is probably going to be really hard to track down and then when we do find him, what are we even going to do?"

"Well, it needs to be something fast and efficient. If he for some reason got away, we would be dead for sure. He is the biggest threat to us for sure though." she says.

She has a point. It's already super lame and unfair that I am in this situation let alone fighting a freaking vampire. Hannale has taught me a lot in our short friendship. She has taught me that it's okay to be boisterous and loud but only when the time is appropriate. I admire her fiery personality.

It's been so long since I've had a friend my own age let alone another girl so I'm just trying to take all of it in. I don't want to get to know her on a super personal level though because I already have lost everything in my life once and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt any less the second time around.

"We need to be sneaky. If we get him out of the way. We have a better chance of making it to the top five." I tell her.

"Can you imagine him as a victor?" She asks.

"Ew. I don't even want to." I say looking up.

Just as I look up, a hollow strawberry hits me in the forehead. It rolls out in front of me and then comes to a stop.

"What the fuck is that?" Hannale asks.

I reach out in front of me and grab the red cylinder. It looks like it will split in half if I pull hard enough. I twist and turn the two sides until they come apart and a big bundle of clear string pops out.

"What am I even supposed to do with this?" I ask confused.

"Yes! That's it! That's our plan! Come on Tess, we need to go!" Hannale springs up from the ground and secures her curly black hair with a pony tail.

I get up and try to keep up. Hannale is walking so fast that I barely have time to comprehend what is about to happen.

Hannale and I come to a clearing in between the little gingerbread house we slept in and a big group of trees. She tosses me one side of the clear string and tells me to tie it tightly to one of the red and white candy cane posts. She takes the other side of the string and ties it to the biggest branch on one of the trees.

"Okay, now what?" I ask her.

"Now, we wait." she says rubbing her hands together.

It seems like we have been crouching behind these huge gum drop boulders for hours and hours on end. I'm not sure how much time has passed but nothing is happening and I am getting anxious and bored.

"This is never going to work." I tell her gripping my sword.

"Fuck, Tessa. Patience." she says twirling her ponytail around her fingers.

More waiting.

I drift off and am startled when Hannale shoves me and I fall over.

"Listen! There is rustling in the bushes. Quiet!" she says sitting at full alert.

"We duck lower behind the boulders and sure enough someone emerges from the trees. It's getting dark so It's hard to tell who it is but the shaggy dark hair gives it away. It is definitely Pency.

"Fingers crossed, It's go time." I whisper.

Pency walks fast toward the trees and sure enough trips over the string and falls on his face.

"GO GO GO!" Hannale shouts.

"She runs out and jumps on him pinning his legs to the ground. His arms flail and her small body struggles to hold him down. I run over to where they are rolling around on the ground and lift my sword high in the air. I plunge it down and it lands in his cheek. He lets out a deep grunt and his hands fly to his face.

I throw Hannale the sword and jump on his back. He stands up and backs me into a tree hard and wraps his hands around my throat and begins to squeeze. I don't let go and dig my heels into his sides. He screams and falls to the ground before I even had a chance to realize what happened.

BOOM.

Hannale stands there stunned.

Two arrows stick out of this chest. When he he fell forward they impaled his body, going all the way through and barely missing me.

"What the fuck?! He was mine!" Hannale shouts looking infuriated.

The boy from eight emerges from the trees and looks down.

"Woah." he says staring at Pency.

"Are you kidding me?!" Hannale screams.

"You're welcome. You guys were dead meat." he says running back into the threes to join his alliance.

Hannale lifts the sword and begins slicing at Pency's stilled body. His intestines fall out of the side of his body due to her deep slices.

"Hannale! Stop!" I scream and run over to her taking the sword away from her.

"Let's get out of here. He's dead and there are other tributes nearby." I grab her hand and run into the trees.

Maybe we didn't get the actual kill, but we helped and Pency is dead and that is all that matters.

* * *

 _Back off, I'll take you on_

 _Headstrong to take on anyone_

 _I know that you are wrong_

 _Headstrong, we're headstrong_

 _Back off, I'll take you on_

 _Headstrong to take on anyone_

* * *

 **Jake Diaz, 17.**

 **District 8 male.**

I just killed someone. What the heck. I didn't even know I had that in me. I was watching those two girls struggle from the trees while Olivia and Rhiannon were having a talk. I wasn't going to help because the less competition the better but I decided that it would benefit everyone if Pency was gone. I had never even used a bow and arrow before so the fact that I hit him twice was pure luck. I would like to thank all my years of athletic training for my spot on hand eye coordination and my upper body strength.

Nobody can tell me now that athleticism isn't a skill that matters. I would be lying dead on the floor by now if it wasn't for it.

"I can't believe you killed Pency Skewer." Olivia giggles and covers her mouth with her hands.

I am proud of myself and I can't help but beam with pride. I did something great. I can't wait to hear what all the bullies will have to say when I get back home.

"Was it crazy?" her green eyes are glowing.

"It was fast, I didn't even think twice." I say.

"That's so cool. I'm sure Hannale is really upset though. You are going to want to watch your back." she says.

"You're right. She was so mad. I wasn't going to stick around there longer than needed." I chuckle.

"Will you go find Rhiannon? She is back there and I am emotionally drained from dealing with her all day." She says closing her eyes.

I stand up and walk back into the trees farther and farther until I find her. She is sitting on the ground looking up.

"How are you doing?" I sit down down next to her.

"We're good." she smiles.

Again with the we.

"Rhiannon, Riley isn't here. You need to get to some water asap in the morning." I tell her.

"He's right there! He's getting worse, Jake. He needs help!" she screams as tears escape her eyes.

"Rhiannon, get it together. We need you." I tell her.

It's so sad watching all of this. She is constantly talking to someone who isn't there and she is worrying herself sick that her dead brother's illness is getting worse.

"Riley, you are just skin and bones. You need to eat something if we are going to make it home."

"Yes, you do."

"RILEY STOP!"

She wraps her arms around herself and begins to rock back and forth as she continues to have a conversation with herself.

I grab her hand and lead her back to where Olivia is resting.

"I hate to wake you up, but we need to go to the cornucopia or something. She needs water. She is loosing her mind." I tell her.

Olivia nods and quickly sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Let's go." she says grabbing Rhiannons hand.

We follow a black and white checkered path and pass all the lollipops that line it. We have to move quickly. I don't like being out and about when it is about to get dark but Rhiannon needs help.

We are almost to our destination when we hear the stomping of what sounds like strong boots.

"What is that?" I ask looking around.

""Hey guys, there are talking playing cards coming towards us pretty quickly. Riley says we should probably run." Rhiannon says nonchalantly.

An army of playing cards stomps towards us in perfect formation. The hearts lead the army followed by the spades, the clubs and the diamonds. Each red and black card holds a spear tightly in their grip.

"Holy shit, we need to go." I turn around to run faster but they are coming in all directions now.

"What do we do?!" Olivia screams looking terrified.

She isn't strong and it's one of her biggest insecurities.

"Fight!" I say.

The cards come forward and start throwing their spears. Rhiannon covers her head with her hands and runs towards the trees leaving me and Olivia to fight for ourselves. I want to be mad but I know she's not in the right frame of mind.

Olivia kicks and punches cards and they fall flat on the ground.

A king of hearts grabs me by my wrist. I spin out of it and punch it down ripping the spear from his hands. I grip the spear on the end just like I would hold a baseball bat and begin swinging. Cards go flying left and right.

"Yes, Jake! Keep going! They are dying!" Olivia screams as she battles as a Joker card.

I am about to take out a ten of spades when something sharp enters my back. It''s a weird sensation but then I feel a warm feeling taking over my entire body. I can't move. I was stabbed in the spine.

"Olivia! Help me!" I scream.

The queen of hearts lifts her spear high above my head and plunges it down into my chest.

"Retreat!" the card shouts and the other cards hop back into their perfect formation and march off.

Olivia runs over to me and drops to her knees on the cold hard tile path.

"Jake, you're okay! Come on. Get up!" she shouts.

"The cornucopia is just around the corner, I remember. Photogenic memory! Come on, we are so close!" she rambles on.

Everything starts to get fuzzy.

"He rounds second… he is coming around third…" I mumble.

The lights are bright and the crowd is cheering my name.

Tears fall from Olivia's eyes.

"You did it Jake, home run…" she says with her hand on my cheek.

"And the crowd goes wild…" I whisper.

Everything goes black.

BOOM.

* * *

 **This is seriously getting so hard to write. I love all the tributes that are left and this was one of the hardest chapters to write so far.**

 **A few things:**

 **Next chapter will be the feast. It's going to get a little bit intense so stay tuned. I'm excited to write it.**

 **GUYS. We are in our top ten now. It's going to start going fast now.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **Pency Skewer-** **Killed by Jake Diaz. Pency was so hard for me to write for because he was so brutal and gruesome but he did make me expand my writing skills and think more. He added so much to the story In my opinion and as much as I want to say I will miss writing for him, I probably won't! haha He was such a fun tribute though.**

 **Jake** **Diaz-** **Killed by the Queen of Hearts mutt. Jayman, I am so sorry. I loved Jake a lot and he was so much fun to write for but I just didn't know where I would go with his development as victor as much as I could with some of the other tributes. Thank you so much for submitting him and letting me bring him to life. He really will be missed a lot. Rest in Peace Jake.**

 **Also, there is a new poll on my profile. Please go vote. It does matter! :)**

 **Thoughts?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	26. The Feast

_Trapped in this nightmare_

 _I wish I'd wake_

 _As my whole life begins to shake_

 _four walls surround me_

 _an empty gaze_

 _I can't find my way out of this maze_

* * *

 **Rhiannon Hughes, 15.**

 **District four female.**

A loud voice comes over the overhead speakers and startles me from daydreaming.

" _Tributes! Congratulations on making the top eleven! To reward you for your valiant efforts, we have decided to throw you a feast in your honor. Follow the checkered path to the gingerbread house to indulge in the food and drink that will be provided."_

"Do you hear that, Riley? You can finally get something to eat and start feeling better!" I beam. I look around for him but once again he is nowhere in sight.

Lately, Riley doesn't even look like himself. His skin is as white as paper and he has big purple bags under his eyes. You can see his ribs and all his bones protruding from his skin and he has lost all of his long brown hair.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" He walks out from behind one of the trees and starts toward the path.

I begin humming and skip forward to join my brother and find Olivia.

"Olivia, Let's go eat!" I tell her.

"Rhiannon, we need to be careful, the feast is just a ploy to get all of us together so that we are reminded of where we are and get more motivation to kill each other." She tells me raising her eyebrows.

"Well, you need to put on your big girl panties and help me get Riley there. He is dying Olivia. I will never live with myself if I have the chance to save my brother and I don't take it." I tell her.

A pained expression comes across her face and she nods sympathetically.

"Okay, Rhiannon. Let's go get Riley some food." she gives me a smile.

Olivia and I walk down the path towards the building that we were instructed to meet at. Riley must have mustered up enough strength to run ahead and beat us to it.

When we arrive, it looks like we are the first ones there.

There is a long oval shaped table in the middle of the room draped with a pastel pink table cloth. On the table, is everything sweet that you could possibly imagine. There are cakes, cookies, fruit, ice cream in big waffle cone bowls and more candy than I have ever seen before in my life. Across the room, there is a big chocolate fountain that is overflowing with smooth white chocolate and surrounding the table are four little tables. Two of them have actual food such as pastas, salads, bread, hamburgers and french fries and then the other two are piled high with supplies that we may or may not need to survive.

"Woah, this is amazing." Olivia says.

"I know.."

Riley is sitting in a chair stuffing his face and it makes me happy to see him doing something normal instead of just wasting away.

"Since we are the first ones here, you might want to eat up, Rhiannon." Olivia says stuffing a donut in her mouth.

Just as I am about to put a peanut butter cookie to my lips, the girl from eight and the boy from five come strolling in. Olivia drops donut and starts to back away.

"Wait! Temporary truce?" the girl from eight asks.

"We are so hungry. Please." she asks politely pointing to the boy who is standing beside her.

"Deal." Olivia says walking back over to the table and selecting her next sweet indulgence.

I look around to find Riley but for the third time today alone, he is nowhere to be seen.

"Riley?! Come on, you need to eat more. We need strength to fight."

The girl from eights eyes get wide and she looks confused.

"RILEY!" I scream pleading with him to come back and eat more.

The room starts to spin and I just want my twin. He surely wouldn't leave me alone.

"Don't worry, he'll be back." I nod and continue eating my cookie.

"That is so sad." the girl from eight whispers as she grabs food for her and her partner off the table.

Everyone is sitting in silence stuffing their faces when the girl from three comes sprinting in.

"How the hell did you peasants beat me here?!" she asks annoyed.

The girl from eight rolls her eyes.

I guess my social skills are seriously lacking because I really did assume that everyone was going to get a long and just have a nice meal together. I thought that the games would be put on a temporary hold so we could all rejuvenize. I have never been more wrong. Cierra runs over to me and grabs me by long brown ponytail. She drags me over to the chocolate fountain and shoves my head in. I can't breathe. Chocolate is filling my lungs. She lifts my head out of the chocolate and throws me on the floor.

"Finally, I'm going to do something that I should have done a long time ago!" she shouts.

"Riley, help me! Where are you?!" I scream scanning the room. The other tributes are taken by surprise and I don't think they really know what to do. The boy from five gets up ands starts to run across the room but he is a few seconds too late. Cierra presses her foot down on my throat and I can't breathe. She pulls a knife out of her back pocket, kneels down and slits my throat.

She rolls off of me and strolls over to get something to eat.

The girl from eight rushes over to me with tears in her eyes.

"It's okay sweetheart. You can let go." she says.

I gargle and spit out the blood that is pooling in my mouth.

"I see Riley. He doesn't look sick anymore." I whisper.

Kenna's hand flies over her mouth and a tear falls from her eye.

"Go. Go with your brother." she says.

The last thing I see before everything goes black is Riley's hand reaching out for mine.

BOOM.

* * *

 _Because these things will change_

 _Can you feel it now?_

 _These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down_

 _This revolution, the time will come_

 _For us to finally win_

 _And we'll sing hallelujah, we'll sing hallelujah_

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **District 8 female.**

I need to leave the room. I am not and I am nauseous. I always knew Cierra was a bitch but I didn't think that she could just go and kill someone with no remorse whatsoever. Especially someone who was very clearly already struggling. I get outside and lean over one of the bushes. Everything that I have just eaten makes it's way back into the world.

I sit down and collect my thoughts for a few minutes. As I am sitting there thinking of what I should do, a good sized silver sphere rolls out of the bushes. I knew that sponsor gifts were a thing going into this but I never expected to actually get one. I rip open the smooth silver ball and inside is a knife set and a bottle. I roll the bottle around in my hands confused. A piece of paper falls into my lap and I open it up.

" _I heard that you like to play with the good stuff."_

It all makes sense now. The small bottle is poison and as much as I know that it shouldn't excite me, it does. As morbid as it sounds, holding the bottle of potion reminds me of home and my mom and that is exactly where I wish I was right now.

I run inside.

"Kenna, Are you okay?" Bryce asks me.

"I will be in a second." I tell him.

He gives me a look as he covers me. I dip the edge of the knife into the bottle of poison and stick it into my back pocket blade side up.

Cierra is sitting on the ground admiring her reflection in a spoon and is hopefully too distracted to see what is coming.

"I see you. You're not slick you poor unfortunate soul." she says laughing.

Crap.

"I just want to talk. Please. I need help. I'm afraid Bryce is going to kill me." I think of sick puppies, and everything else to make tears well up in my eyes but the only thing that does it is the image of the poor girl from district four crying out for her dead brother.

Cierra gives me a look after looking Bryce up and down.

"Sit." she motions for me to sit besides her.

"I don't trust you.. I'm watching you. However, I need some juicy gossip in my life so spill." she says with a twisted smile.

"Well, he…" I go off on some long story about how I have suspected this for awhile and I totally make him out to be some creep but he will have to forgive me later. As I'm talking, I slowly slide the knife out of my black pant pocket and grip it tight.

"Hold please, Ice cream break." she giggles and turns around to reach for one of the waffle bowls.

Now is my chance.

I run up behind Cierra and slice her back with as much force as I can. I throw the knife back at her as I'm running away. I grab Bryce by the arm.

"I'll explain later." I tell him.

I lead Bryce outside and tell him to crouch with me in front of the gingerbread house so that we can peer into one of the windows.

"THAT DUMB BITCH!" Cierra screams

"I told her that you watched me when I sleep." I giggle.

"What the heck, Kenna?! That is so creepy." he says laughing as well.

"It shouldn't take too long now." I tell him.

Cierra starts to stumble across the room and her screams start to slur. A weird red rash starts appearing all over her body and she falls to her knees.

"Is her skin bubbling?" Bryce asks looking sick.

"It sure is. Maybe she should have picked on someone who could hold their own. Not someone who was very clearly dealing with their own issues." I say.

"Damn, noted. Don't piss Kenna off."

"Let's go in. She's not a threat anymore." Bryce says.

Cierra can't move anything but her eyes at this point.

"How could you do this to me, you sneaky harlot?" she seethes.

"You obviously have no empathy whatsoever. The girl from four was fragile and you took advantage of that. I didn't like how you played that." A weird sense of rage starts to return to my body as the images of her shoving the poor girls head in chocolate flood my brain.

"People like you, are what is wrong with the world." Bryce tells her nodding at me.

"I'm… I'm-" she never gets to finish her sentence. I guess the poison did it's job.

BOOM.

I feel a pang in my heart but I know somehow that I did the right thing.

"Grab some supplies Bryce. Let's roll." I say.

Bryce runs to the supply table as I stuff some food into my bag. He looks overwhelmed.

"Bryce, are you okay?" I ask him.

"You just killed someone and I just watched. This is not how I should be behaving. I'm gonna get scolded for sure." he says

Now is not the time for him to be having an emotional meltdown.

"Come on, Bryce. Get the stuff and we can talk about it when we get somewhere safe." I tell him.

"There is no where safe." the girl from ten walks into the room.

"Wouldn't want to let mommy and daddy down, now would we?" she giggles.

"I've never let them down.. I can't." he says.

"Oh, but you have. You are a big strong man. A predicted Victor at that. Mommy and daddy would not be pleased if they knew that their boy went home only due to pure luck. What a disappointment."

"Stop!" Bryce says

"Poor baby." the girl sticks her lower lip out.

"I'm not perfect!" Bryce runs towards her and they fall to the ground. He has his hands wrapped around her neck and she lets out a scream. I am standing back watching in horror as they roll around on the ground. Tessa is turning purple from Bryce's grip and his face is seething. I can practically see smoke coming out of his ears. Bryce grabs a knife from his pocket and shoves it into her jugular. Blood squirts across the room leaving splatters all over the walls.

BOOM.

"Oh my gosh. Bryce.. Come on. Let's get out of here." I tell him as I wipe blood from my forehead. He doesn't move.

"Bryce.. Please." I plead with him to get up.

When there is still no signs of movement I run over to him and roll him off of Tessa. When I flip him over the knife he used to slash Tessa's throat with is sticking straight out of his heart. My heart drops.

"Ken.." he whispers.

"Bryce.. You're okay." I smile and smooth his hair just how he likes it. My eyes get hot and I'm not sure I can handle the conversation that's about to ensue.

"Thank you…" he utters.

"For what?" I ask letting the tears fall freely now.

"You.. you helped me live. I had fun… in the hunger games… ya psycho." he gives me a faint smile and I can't help but laugh at him using my favorite catchphrase.

"Tell my parents that I'm sorry.. When you go home." he says.

"They are so proud of you Bryce, don't worry about that." I say.

Bryce's eyes close and his breathing stops.

BOOM.

I try to stand up but my knees don't work. I want to win, to give Bryce what he wanted but I'm all alone now. I don't think I can do this on my own.

* * *

 _I'd like to show you a million things_

 _I'd like to make the world for you a better place_

 _But when it pours, it really rains, so_

 _Put on your boots, and let's play_

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16.**

 **District 12 female.**

I miss Ashley. It's weird how you can miss someone that you have never even met so much. I want to have the same experience as every other mother gets. I find myself asking all these questions that I don't even know the answers too. Do babies have brains at that age? Does she know that I'm not there for her? If I get out, is she going to remember that I abandoned her? I mean, I didn't have a choice but these questions still haunt me and lately they have been shaking me to the core.

Tessa asked me earlier If I wanted to go eat at the feast but I decided to stay behind. Going to a place where all these shady bitches want to kill me is dangerous now. There is a living and breathing miniature version of me that desperately needs me waiting for me back at home. I have decided that I will do whatever it takes to get back to her but I will also be smart and cautious to ensure that I can do that.

Tessa said she would go and get food and supplies but she has been gone for a long time now and I can't help but worry. It's these fucking motherly hormones. They suck and I want them to go away. I don't want to care about people and I especially don't want to keep crying and shit which has been happening a lot lately.

I need to go make sure she is okay. I gather my things and head to the path that leads to the building where the feast is supposed to be help. I double check my bag for a weapon just in case and when I feel a switchblade I decide that it's probably safe to go. I am not afraid to slay a shady bitch if need be.

"I walk this lonely road… the only road that I have ever known.." I sing to myself as I walk. Giggling at my pun. I am walking along when suddenly someone runs into me at full speed. I fly forward landing on my hands and knees.

"Fucking excuse you!" I shout and turn around.

"I'm so sorry.." says the girl from seven. The girl from five is standing behind her looking startled.

"We were just trying to go get something from the feast." the little one says.

"Well you sure were in a hell of a rush." I say brushing my knees off.

I realize that my knife is no longer in my grip and start to panic. I see it laying next to the girl from seven's foot and her and her ally or whatever exchange a glance. The girl from seven kicks the knife to the girl from five and she slides in under her foot.

"What the fuck. I have eyeballs and you bitches are not sneaky." I say.

"Are you going to kiss your baby with that mouth?" the girl from five asks sassily.

Who does this little midget think she is?! I can feel rage bubbling up inside me and I think my blood is actually boiling. Nobody is going to talk about my baby and you can mark my words on that.

"Excuse me?" I ask her giving her the dirtiest look that I can muster.

I run at her and push her over sliding the knife back towards me with my foot. She stands up and pushes.

"That's how you wanna play this? Let's fucking go." I spit.

She looks scared and begins to run down the path.

"Erika. Wait!" the girl from seven looks confused as she runs away and leaves her in the dust.

I do not have the energy for this right now but she talked about my baby so she is going to pay.

I chase her down the path and when I finally catch up to her she is cornered in between me and a tree.

"You really should watch your mouth." I tell her.

"She knocks the knife from my hand and tries to run but my hands find her neck first. I push down on her neck as hard as I can and she starts to squirm and squeal. Her eyes get wide and she falls to the ground holding her throat and trying to take deep breaths.

"On a beach.. I'm not here… toes in the sand." she rambles to herself.

"Please.." she looks up at me pleading with me to spare her life and for a second, I almost do. She seems nice enough and if this was any other situation, I would have given in to her plea. But I need to get home to Ashley and she is a road block.

I close my eyes and lift my foot and bring it down on her head over and over again until she stops screaming.

BOOM.

I can't bring myself to look down at what I just did so I take a deep breath and avoid the body that lies in front of me and run to go find Tessa.

I run along the path trying to block out the screams that I just caused and they echo in my brain making it hard to focus on anything else. When I get to the gingerbread house, it's quiet. Eerily quiet but I don't trust it. I peer into the window lined with frosting and sparkling gumdrops that line the window sill.

I peer in and it looks empty. There is blood all over the walls and the food is all over the floor. I have to stand on my tip toes to make sure but everything is clear. I peer in one last time but this time, I see a hand.

A sinking feeling takes me over and I follow the hand all the way up the arm and to my fears are realized when I see Tessa's blonde blood soaked pony-tail.

I don't even want food anymore. I just need to get away from here.

* * *

 _Do you know how it feels to be afraid_

 _Lying there frozen_

 _With my eyes wide open_

 _Do you know how it feels to find a trace_

 _Of words unspoken_

 _With my eyes wide open_

* * *

 **Olivia Sheetz, 18.**

 **District 9 female.**

Rhiannon is gone. The last person I had on my side, just gone. I couldn't stand to stick around in that building any longer. I suddenly understand everything that Rhiannon was going through. Not that I lost someone close to me, but witnessing as many deaths as I have in the past week is really going to take a toll on me.

I am finding solace in laying in the grass looking up. This way, I can imagine that I am back in the wheat fields with my boyfriend, looking up at the stars.

This whole experience has been a wake up call for me.

I was so worried about becoming like my mother and having extreme mood swings that I just shut everything else out. I didn't appreciate the small things as much as I tried.

Now, lying here completely alone has made me question everything. If for some weird reason and twist of fate I actually make it home, there are going to be major changes made. I am going to live each day as if it is my last because honestly it very well could be. I spent so long resenting my mother and her mood swings, that I never stopped and checked to see if she way okay. I make a mental note to treat her better when I get home.

I pretty much have the arena memorized at this point. I never thought that my photographic memory would come in handy, but I also never thought that I would be fighting for my life in the hunger games.

Now that I am alone, I need to sit here and seriously plan out my next moves. I have to be so careful. I am the weakest one left physically. Mentally, I am the strongest so at least I have that going for me.

I carefully plot out a trail that I will follow in my head and my end goal will be an area with beautiful waterfalls, a crystal clear pond and licorice grass. I will hide out there until hopefully the final two and then I will do whatever I need to do to get back home to Clyde.

I decide to take my time because honestly, I have already heard five cannons today and although, I don't really know who is left, it's way less people for me to worry about. I don't want to use all my strength running in case I run into someone strong and have to fight them off.

"Who do you think it was?" a voice echos through the trees.

I'm not sure where it is coming from so I have to be cautious and quiet.

"We need a game plan." the female voice says again.

"I don't think we need a plan at all. We just kill everyone that crosses our path. Wam bam thank you mam. Ya know?" a male voice says and the girl laughs.

"We can't do that. If we want to make it far we have to plan." she says.

"Whatever, boss lady." the boys says.

I need to see who the voices belong to so that I know who to avoid at all costs but I'm afraid to move and make any noise.

I carefully move my feet and inch closer the tree right in front of me. It has a split right down the middle so I can see directly in front of me, right where these two tributes are plotting.

It's the girl and the boy from district one. They are sitting in the grass stuffing their faces with cookies and planning deaths of other human beings.

Cute.

I roll my eyes and prepare to leave when my foot betrays me and I step on a branch. The crack that the branch makes seems to be ear splitting.

They both turn around at the same time.

"What the heck was that?" the girl asks.

"Someone was listening to us." the boy says.

I hold my breath and hold still. Hoping that the moment will pass and I will be able to run along.

"There, in the trees!" the boy shouts.

The girl pulls a bow and arrow out of her pack and takes aim. I run as fast as I can away from them but it's so hard to dodge the trees.

I run as fast as I can and when I think I am a safe distance away I turn around to make sure that I am safe.

As soon as I turn around the arrows start coming. Three of them enter my arms and pin me to a tree. I've never felt pain like this before. I see one last arrow and it hits me right inbetween the eyes.

My brain is…. Shu….wh….happened…

Everything goes dark.

BOOM.

* * *

 _Come away little lass_

 _Come away to the water_

 _To the ones that are waiting only for you_

 _Come away little lass_

 _Come away to the water_

 _Away from the life that you always knew_

 _We are calling to you_

* * *

 _ **Cecily Prane, 15.**_

 _ **District 7 female.**_

I don't want to do this anymore. Tannin is dead. Erika is dead. I watched someone who I just met but loved dearly be ripped away from me. Tannin was the sweetest soul I have ever known and I am angry. Angry at the Capitol for putting us here, angry at the districts for rebelling, angry at everyone.

Most of all though, I am angry at myself. I could have saved Tannin. If I hadn't run away like a scared child and stayed and fought Pency, Tannin might still be standing here and that kills me inside.

I know that I can win this thing if I just push all of my negative emotions and feelings aside but that is so hard for me to do.

I killed someone. If I make it out of here, my life will never be the same. Maret was not a nice boy but he was still a human and I took his life away. How am I supposed to live with that?

I know that people would praise me and give me all the respect in the world if I make it home, but I don't want that kind of respect. I would love respect for being kind and collected not some monster that had to kill her way through twenty-four tributes to get where she wanted to be.

This whole situation is just extremely messed up. If I was back in my district, I would write and draw until my anger was gone but I have nothing here to do that with.

The feast should still be going on and I need some food, So I decide to go get something.

I have been crying for so long that I have no tears left to cry and my body feels drained. The walk that should only take me about 15 minutes takes me twice as long because my body just feels as if it is ready to shut down.

I take a few deep breaths before I run into the gingerbread house and muster up all the strength that I have inside me to face whatever awaits me in there. I burst through the door and the place is a disaster. Blood was shed here and it makes my stomach turn to think about that.

"Who is that?!" a voice shouts from the other room.

"Please, I don't want any trouble. I'm just really hungry and tired." I know this probably won't work but it's worth a try.

The district one tributes walk out of the other room and into the room with all the food.

The boy looks me up and down and shrugs.

"Whatever." he says.

"Way to stick to your plan, Claudio." she says looking annoyed.

"Please." I say again.

The girl smiles at me.

"Fine." she says with a smirk.

There isn't much food left on the table but I'll take what I can get. It's not like I'm used to stuffing my face back at home either. I scrounge around for what I can find and then head to the table where the supplies are. There is only one weapon left on the table a machete. I don't even know how to swing one of those around but it is bigger than the knife that I have. I reach to grab it but so does the girl from district one.

"Excuse me, I was holding that first." she smiles.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were back in kindergarten where things were first come first serve." I say annoyed. The rage that was just starting to settle comes back.

"Give it to me!" The girl screams.

"No!" I scream back pulling as hard as I can.

My hands slip and fall off of the machete and I just don't have enough energy to fight her for it.

Adaira lets out a blood curdling scream as I realize that the machete had flown forward and sliced her thighs terrible when I let go.

She falls to her knees.

This is my chance to get away. But I need that weapon.

Adaira falls to her knees and cries into her hands. I rush over and swipe the weapon from her hands.

I don't want to do this but I have to if I want to stay alive. If I let her live, I would have a serious target on my back. I am going to need some serious therapy when I get out of here. I life the machete high above my head and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and muster up all the energy that I have left, willing it to come out and help me get back to safety.

"I'm really sorry.." I say as I lift the Machete higher so it gets the job done.

Just as I am about to plunge it into the blonde girl, the boy from one tackles me to the ground. In one swift movement, he snatches the tool from my fingers and slices my stomach open. The burning sensation starts out slow but then spreads and becomes unbearable. My vision starts to get blurry and my head is pounding. I feel tired. Like I want to go to sleep.

"We should have stuck to the plan, let's get you cleaned up." the boy says helping the girl up from the floor.

They are leaving me here alone to die.

I can't think but these words are the only thing able to escape my lips.

"On the side of a hill in the sprinkling of the grave with silvery tears.A soldier cleans and polishes a eeps unaware of the clarion call." I sing in a shallow voice in between breaths.

I sing until I finally fall asleep.

BOOM.

* * *

 **Well, that happened.**

 **I'm not okay right now, tbh.**

 **I am so sad because all of the tributes in my top 11 were so special to me so this was really hard. If your tribute didn't make it, it's nothing personal. I used a few determining factors to decide to got to live so don't hate me.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **11th place: Rhiannon Hughes- killed by Cierra Hart: Caleb, please don't hate me. I know how much you loved Rhiannon and I lived her too but she wasn't a victor for me. Plus, she was loosing her mind. She was one of my favorite tributes to write for and she will be missed dearly. Don't hate me, friend. Love you!**

 **10th place: Cierra Hart- Killed by Kenna Rockwall: Cierra was always so much fun to write for. She had so many development opportunities but whenever I wrote her she came out as bitchy so I guess I struggled with her development which is why she died. She was such a great tribute and I loved her a lot. Rip sassy.**

 **9th place: Tessa Cowell- Killed by Bryce Constantin: Tessa was always super hard for me to write for. I loved her as a tribute so much but I could just never really write her well and I felt bad. Thank you so much to her submitter.**

 **8th place: Bryce Constantin- Killed by Tessa Cowell: Bryce was my victor for a long time tbh. I loved him so much and he was perfect. But that's the thing, he was too perfect haha. His development was supposed to be more in the arena so it wouldn't have been very fun afterwards. I also saw more development in some of the other tributes but Bryce was always one of my faves. Thanks for letting me write him. If I ever do a story where I bring tributes back, I want him. :P**

 **7th place: Erika Ryner- Killed by Hannale Croaw: Erika was such a cute and smoll bean but once again, I didn't really know where the development would go with her. She was a sweet and innocent girl who didn't deserve what happened to her and she will be missed. Thanks for letting me bring her to life.**

 **6th place: Olivia Sheetz- killed by Adaira Levonte: Olivia was so much fun for me to write and she was one of my favorites ever since I read her form. However, she was never a victor. She was amazing and fun to write and I hope that her submitter is happy with her. Thanks for letting me write her Susan. :)**

 **5th place: Cecily Prane- Killed by Claudio Sterling: Oh Cecily. Cecily was actually one of my favorites from the very beginning as well. There was always just something about her motherly and caring feel that I loved so much. I really am going to miss writing her. Thanks for submitting her.**

 **Congrats to:**

 **Claudio Steling**

 **Adaira Levonte,**

 **Kenna Rockwall**

 **Hannale Croaw**

 **Next chapter will the final four and then the finale. :)**

 **ANNOUNCEMENT:**

 **Caleb and I are doing a collaboration story called Thunder and Lightning. It is on his account and the first chapter is live. This is going to be so much fun so we would love for you to check it out and submit. There is a from located on either his or my profile and you can send your submissions to either or. You have until July 10th to get your tributes in. :)**

 **Thoughts?**

 **Predictions?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


	27. Finale: Part one

_Somebody's out to get your lady_

 _A few of your buddies they sure look shady_

 _Blades are long, clenched tight in their fists_

 _Aimin' straight at your back_

 _And I don't think they'll miss_

* * *

 **Claudio Sterling,18.**

 **District 1 male.**

The final four. I have to tell you, I never expected this to happen. Don't get me wrong, I am not lacking in the confidence department but I honestly thought that the other tributes would have taken me out the first chance that they could get. Maybe it's my intense smolder and my extreme good looks or maybe it's just the fact that I have managed to stay in the background up until now. I'd like to think it's the first one.

So many cannons have gone off. We don't know who it is yet so Adaira and I are patiently waiting.

"This is absolutely crazy. It blows my mind." Adaira says. She has been feeling a little bit funny about the whole thing lately. She said that she came into the games not wanting to kill a single soul because that is exactly what the capitol wants. "I hope she didn't suffer. I really wouldn't wish an arrow to the face on anyone but I really thought that she was going to kill either me or you and I still need you." she says giving me a faint smile.

"Adaira, you did what you had to do. You did it very well at that. You shot an arrow through the damn forest and nailed someone right in between their eyeballs. That takes some serious skill and at this point, I'm pretty convinced that you are lying about who you are. You have to actually be an assassin hired by the Capitol or something." I tease her.

"Shut up, Claudio. Beginners luck." she says playfully tossing her hair before returning her hands to hug her knees. She has been rocking back and forth for some time now. This is why sweet and innocent souls shouldn't be put in the hunger games.

Adaira is quiet and sweet, but she is tough and she knows what to do when the going gets rough so I am not surprised in the slightest that she has made it this far. Her reasoning to get home is just as much of a good one as mine, if not better. I wouldn't put it past this girl to make me out when I'm not looking but for now, we will stick together.

 **The Deceased:**

 **Rhiannon Hughes**

 **Cierra Hart**

 **Tessa Cowell**

 **Bryce Constantin**

 **Erika Ryner**

 **Olivia Sheetz**

 **Cecily Prane.**

Seven names appear over our heads. Seven innocent lives taken today. All for what? The chance for us to get out hands on some sweet treats that most of us haven't even seen in our lifetimes. I suddenly feel nauseous and it's not from the candy.

Adaira's hand flies over her mouth and tears well in her eyes.

"I can't believe that many people died in one day." she says quietly as she stands up and starts walking away.

"Adaira, are you okay?" I get up to follow her but she sticks her hand out to stop me.

"I'm fine, I just need a minute to collect myself and gather my thoughts."

This is crunch time. People are going to have to start doing things that they don't want to do and fighting with all their might to stay alive. Shit is about to go down.

* * *

 _I'd love to help you_

 _But everybody's telling me you look like me_

 _But please don't turn out like me, you look like me_

 _But you're not like me I know_

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw,16.**

 **District 12 female.**

Three more people to go. Only three people stand in my way of getting home and starting my life. I could totally take out three people, right? Wrong. I know I am a badass bitch but three against one would never end well. I would just end up a little pile of awesomeness on the floor.

I wish that I felt bad that seven people lost their lives today. I really wish that I did. I want to feel bad. As morbid as it may seem, with each and every name that appeared in the sky, an intense feeling of happiness grew in my heart. I get that people were dying and everybody had their own reason to want to get home but I honestly don't give a rats ass. I can't stand any of the tributes that are left anyways.

There is the girl from eight so is nice and sweet and makes me want to vomit all over her perfect brown braid. Then, there is the freaks from district one. Their blonde hair and blue eyes barbie and ken looking ass. I don't mess with that cookie cutter type shit. I guess this works in my favor though because if I can get each and every one of them alone, I know that I could take them out.

I have decided that if I make it home, I will raise Ashley with no knowledge of the hunger games. I know that is pretty unrealistic but I will be damned if my child grows up around the same amount of violence that I did. She is going to be sheltered as hell and I don't care if i come off as one of those crazy moms that you see on tv that have to lock their children in closets to hide them from the horrors of the world.

I lay back and close my eyes. Kicking all this ass is going to take a lot of work so I need to let my body obtain the strength that it is sure to need.

"Psst." I am startled by a whisper. My eyes shoot open and my body is suddenly alert.

"Don't be afraid my child." the voice has a lisp. I look around but I don't see anything.

"Over here." the voice says.

I follow the sound of the voice until my eyes land on just a pearly white smile.

"What the actual fuck is this." I say confused.

"Follow me, I will help you." the voice hisses.

I don't trust it. I have come to far in this game to be taken out by dentures.

"Suit yourself." the smile suddenly turns into a black cat.

Now, I'm curious.

"What the hell. This is ridiculous. Let's go." I tell the cat motioning for him to lead the way.

I follow the cat down the path and into the trees. We come to a clearing with all different colored rocks that are covered in moss and weeping willow trees that have tea cups hanging off of the edge of the branches. The black cat flashes it's smile at me one last time and then disappears.

"Oh hell no! You get back here right this instant. You are not going to lead me into the unknown and then abandon my ass!" I shout into thin air.

"Who the hell are you talking too?" the boy from district one asks.

It all makes sense now. The manipulative cat led me here so that we would fight.

That's the first and last time I trust a talking animal. Shit it about to hit the fan and I'm ready to give it my all.

* * *

 _I'm a blackbird flying in a white fence town_

 _I've got a church pew heart_

 _And a rock n' roll mouth._

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **District 8 female.**

I made it to the final four. What the heck even. When I first got reaped, I was almost positive that my remaining days on earth were numbered. I had convinced myself that I was going to die in the bloodbath and I was okay with that because that way, I wouldn't get hurt. I have been really good about laying low as of this far, but the final four will make that really hard. It's make or break time now. I've learned a lot about myself in this arena. I can do this. I have what it takes to make it home and I am not going to take that lightly.

I can't wrap my mind around the fact that seven people died today. Seven people that wanted to make it home just as much as I do. I feel for their families and it breaks my heart knowing that they had to watch their children die on a screen.

Bryce's family had to watch him die on a screen.

Bryce is gone.

I have been repeating that sentence over and over in my head but for some reason my brain just won't accept it. I am fully expecting him to walk around the corner any second with his perfectly placed brown hair and his sweet smile. Bryce was my friend. The only person besides Hilda that I have ever completely opened up to and it was so nice. I'm afraid that I will never feel comfortable enough around anyone else to do it again.

I have been walking in these woods for what feels like forever. I needed to get away after Bryce died. The events of today have been way too much for my heart to handle. These woods are weird. The trees are all different colors and the ground isn't dirt. It is yellow turf. Being in here makes you feel happy and excited until you remember that your death could be hiding behind each and every one of the colorful branches. The game makers really went above and beyond with this.

"Well, look what the cat drug in." a voice says from behind the trees. The girl from twelve shows herself and then the pair from district one walks out too.

"So, they brought us all the same place." they boy from one says Twirling a sword in his fingers. I find comfort in placing my hand on the knives that I have resting in my back pocket.

It's show time.

* * *

 _Nobody ever told you_

 _Nobody ever told you_

 _You shine like a diamond_

 _Glitter like gold_

 _And you need to know_

 _What nobody ever told you_

* * *

 **Adaira Levonte, 18.**

 **District 1 female.**

I don't know what to do. All four of the remaining tributes in the same place surely won't end well. I don't know whether to grab Claudio and run or stay here and fight for my way out. I didn't make it to the final four to run away like a scared little girl. I rip the bow out of my pack as quickly as I can and load it with an arrow.

"Are we going to play this the easy way or the hard way?" the girl from twelve asks. For some reason looking at her strikes a nerve in me. She reminds me of Lorraine's little sister and now that is all I can see when I look at her face. Maybe it's just the age difference or maybe it's solely based on the fact that I am getting more and more anxious by the minute to get back home and wrap her up in a tight hug.

"This is the hunger games, I don't think that there is any easy way to play this, ya psycho." the girl from eight smirks.

"Well, I'm sorry to break up this little tea party but I have a life to attend to back in district one." Claudio says. He lifts his sword in the air and runs towards the girl from twelve. She runs towards too and they meet in the middle. The sound of metal hitting metal causes a loud ringing in my ears and it's almost unbearable.

"Claudio, wait!" I yell. I run towards him and push him out of the way. "She's harmless and she's young. We can let her go for now." I don't know what comes over me. I am still seeing my youngers friends face and even though I know it's not her, I still don't want to watch her die. At least not right now. Not in front of me.

"You are supposed to be on my side." Claudio turns around looking shocked. He throws in his hand up in the air and he looks extremely mad.

"I am!" I tell him putting my bow down at my side. The girl from eight's head is moving back and forth like she is watching a tennis match and the girl from twelve is just looking at me confused. She runs over to the girl from eight and they begin to engage in combat.

"You aren't on my side. You could have just gotten me killed, Adaira." Claudio says walking towards me. "Did you have this planned all along?" he asks. ""Keep me around until the time is right for you and then branch out on your own." he asks me.

"Claudio, you are over is not what is going on at all." I say looking him directly in his piercing blue eyes. I need him to believe me.

"Well, Adaira. I have had a plan of my own." he starts and I begin to get worried. "I know that you are strong and skilled. I couldn't beat you if it was just me and you in the final round. I'm not stupid." he says walking towards me. I lift my bow and arrow but he snatches it out of my grip.

"Goodnight, Adaira." he says.

I feel a stinging sensation in my chest. I look down and his sword is sticking out of me. I fall to my knees and grab the sword, trying to pull it out of my chest cavity but it hurts too bad.

"You.. are terrible." I start to get tired. White lights surround me and I strangely feel more at peace than I have in a long time. My eyelids gets heave but before they close completely I hear a familiar voice.

"Adaira, what are you waiting for? Come on, girl!" my best friends voice coaxes me into a deep sleep.

BOOM.

* * *

 _Makes me that much stronger_

 _Makes me work a little bit harder_

 _It makes me that much wiser_

 _So thanks for making me a fighter_

* * *

 **Hannale Croaw, 16.**

 **District 12 female.**

"Get off of me you useless, trick!" I shout at the girl from district eight. She has her hands around my throat and her knee is lodged deep into my chest.

"That's pretty big talk for someone who is pinned down to the ground." she responds out of breath. I knocked her knives away from her and now she has no power over me. Her braid is coming lose and her face is red from struggling with me for so long.

"Get off of me, you oaf!" I gather all the strength that I have and push her off of me. I grab her braid and throw her down on the yellow turf causing a yellow powder to rise up into the air. She starts coughing and I realize that I have her right where I want her. I shove my knee under her throat and her face starts turning purple.

"Please… stop…" she manages to get out in between shallow breaths. I push down on her neck harder and harder with my knee and just as I feel that I am about to get my second kill in the game, something or someone lift me off of her by my hair.

"Let me finish what I started." he lifts me off the ground by my neck. My feet start flailing. I can't touch the ground. His grip is too strong. I see the girl from eight get up and run away as fast as she can while she still has the chance and it makes my insides boil.

"Put me down!" I manage to scream.

"I don't have enough energy to kill you right now. So I'll let you do that on your own." he says.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" I seethe.

"I over heard you in the training sessions before you were taken away. There is something that you can't do. What was it? Oh right. Swim." he smirks. He walks into the pond that is adjacent from the area where we all just battled and lowers me into the water. No matter how hard I punch or kick, it doesn't make a difference. He is twice my size and he is strong. As my head goes under the water the little pink bundle comes to my mind. She needs me but I'm fading fast and water is entering my lungs.

Claudio brings me up and then throws me into the deepest part of the pond before retreating to the shore. I can't swim.

"Please don't fucking leave me out here! My baby needs me!" I plead as I struggle to stay above water.

"You're baby is better off in the hands of the Capitol than it ever will be with you" he says as he wrings out his clothes.

Surely, there has to be a camera around here somewhere!

"Please, make sure she knows that I fought for her until my last breath!" something wraps around my leg and begins to pull me under the water. "Tell her that I tried my best and that she was the best thing that ever happened to me.. Even if i never did get to meet her." tears fall from my eyes and my body submerges under water.

It's dark and I can't see. Water fills my lungs and things start to get blurry. I see Asher's face and Ashley's face and I don't feel so alone. The last thing that I see before my light goes out is a happy baby in the arms of a family that I know will take good care of her and somehow that brings me peace and I feel like I can stop fighting.

BOOM.

* * *

 _Wasn't it easier in your firefly-catchin' days?_

 _And everything out of reach, someone bigger brought down to you_

 _Wasn't it beautiful runnin' wild 'til you fell asleep?_

 _Before the monsters caught up to you?_

* * *

 **Kadence Marquet, 7.**

 **District 2 resident.**

"No, no, no!" the little blonde girl screams in horror as she stares at the tv.

"That was awesome!" her brother Colby yells. Tears start to fall down her face as she watched the first part of the finale on their big screen television.

"Why do they do this?! It isn't fair she screams. "Grandpa, I don't want to watch this anymore." she tells her grandfather as she climbs into his lap on his dark brown rocking chair and buries her head into his chest. She never has been a fan of the hunger games but her grandpa seems oddly interested in this particular games for some reason.

"I just needed to see one thing, sweetie. We can turn it off now." Kadence's grandpa kisses the top of her head and clicks the tv off, breathing a sigh of relief.

"One day, I am going to be President of Panem, papa." kadence says wiping her tears away.

"Is that so, Munchkin?' her grandfather looks down at her and chuckles.

"Yes. When I'm president, there will be no stupid games and everyone will love each other and give each other five hugs every single day." she says smiling.

"I can't wait for that day, pumpkin. I can see it now." Kadences grandfather wraps her up tighter in her silky purple blanket and begins rocking back and forth very slowly letting the last of the embers in the fire place burn out.

* * *

 **I'm sad and I don't want to talk about it. This was SO hard for me. I literally went into the final four not knowing what I was going to do at all. It came down to two things, the votes in my poll and also who was easiest to write for me. I also may or may not have pulled a name from a hat because I was literally that distraught over this chapter. If your character died, please know it's nothing personal.**

 **Eulogies:**

 **4th place- Adaira Levonte: killed by Claudio sterling. Ansley, I am so sorry. Adaira had such a detailed and amazing form and I loved her so much. I really think that I butchered her though so I'm really sorry if I didn't write her well. She became pretty hard for me to write for. She was an amazing tribute and she will be missed.**

 **3rd place- Hannale Croaw: drowned. This way by far the hardest death for me to write. Hannale was one of the best tributes that I've ever written for and I had so much fun writing her. She was sassy and fierce and not your typical district 12 girl. I didn't know how to incorporate her and her baby into the story that I want to write later on because my writing skills are just not that good yet, nothing personal. I love you Abby! Thanks for letting me bring your baby to life.**

 **Congratulations to IVolunteerAsAuthor and Reader Castellan for being in my top 2!**

 **Also, I have decided to write another SYOT while I wait for Caleb to get back from his Australia trip so that we can start TAL. I will start accepting tributes as soon as the prologue is posted in a little bit. I would live it i y'all would submit. I feel like I'm getting a hang of this now so my next stories will only get better. :)**

 **Thoughts?**

 **Sad like me?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	28. A Star is Born

_Some legends are told_

 _Some turn to dust or to gold_

 _But you will remember me_

 _Remember me for centuries_

* * *

 **The Victor**

If you would have told me that it would be me against one other person in the hunger games, I would have laughed in your face. I never expected to make it this far. People like me don't win things like this. I won't win this. My opponent is two strong. I have watched them kill from the background.

I am walking along the black and white checkered path and looking up at the lollipops that tower over my head. I still think it's incredibly cruel to put children in an arena filled with candy and then forbid them from eating any of it. That was part of their plan all along, they wanted tributes to eat the candy and die. Luckily, no one died from that. Although it would have made my life so much easier if more of us had been curious.

Walking along the path, has already made me start reflecting. Twenty- two tributes had to die for me and my opponent to get to this point. The Capitol was really messed up for showing us how our lives could be if we made it out alive. It gave each and every one of us the push that we needed to make it out alive. It's just cruel honestly.

" _Stop."_ A voice firmly shouts from behind me. The voice is angry and determined.

"What makes you think that I would stop, when you are screaming at me?" I ask my opponent as I pick up the pace in which I am walking at. They pick up their pace as well and in no time we are full on sprinting. I take deep and shallow breaths in order to allow myself to keep running for as long as I need to. My lungs are on fire and I am afraid that they will give out on me at any moment. I look behind me and the other tribute is nowhere to be found, so I take a break. I bend over and rest my hands on my knees.

"You really shouldn't stop when you are by yourself in the middle of the woods. Haven't you ever heard of the big bad wolf?" my opponent pops out from behind the trees.

"Did you not read until the end, the wolf doesn't live very long." I say back.

Before I have a chance to move, my opponent reaches out and uses all their strength to pin me up against a tree. It surprises me the amount of strength that they have. I wasn't expecting that.

"Say your goodbyes, friend." they smirk. I try to wriggle out of their grip but I can't move.

They life a knife out of their black pants and close their eyes.

"This is going to hurt me, more than it will hurt you." They say. They bite their bottom lip and extend their arm out.

"Wait! Can we call a Truce? If we both refuse to kill each other, maybe they will let us go home!" I say looking my attacker directly in the eyes. My manipulation skills can really come in handy here, if I play this right.

"You have a good point, but how do I know that I can trust you?" They squint their eyes and look me up and down. "Because, You want to get home just as bad as I do. We made it this far. That has to count for something." I reply manipulating my voice to sound sad and exhausted so that they will believe me.

They move their hands from my arms and push me up against the tree harder, this time their hands are making contact with my face and my throat.

"If there is any funny business, I will not hesitate to kill you. I won't feel bad about it either." they say.

"No funny business, I promise." I say, annoyed at the fact that they are still touching me.

"Fine." They let me go, but they do it forcefully as if to show me one last time that they mean business. I've never seen them like this before. I had been keeping my eye on them throughout the games and they always seemed like a quiet and reserved person. Seeing this side of them is scary. Then again, if you left the hunger games the same person that you were when you came in, you have serious issues and I am high key judging you.

My fellow tribute sits down in the grass and puts their head in their hands.

"I'm exhausted. I wonder how long we will have to wait before they let us out of here. Days, weeks, months or even years. We will be old and gray by the time they agree to let us leave." their eyes are still closed and I assume that they are just thinking out loud.

This is my chance. If I don't take it now, I might never to get to leave.

I run forward and shove my switchblade into my opponent's neck. I close my eyes and dig the knife in as deep as it can go, willing this death to be as fast as possible. They let out a scream. They don't fall to the ground as I was hoping though. They stand up and pull the knife out of their neck and slice my chest. It burns.

This is not where I am going to die. I refuse to let this be what happens to me. I push them to the ground and climb on top of them squeezing their neck. Blood squirts all over me and they squirm under my grip. The adrenaline must be making me strong because I have never felt this much strength in my entire life.

My opponent stills under me and I take a deep breath.

No cannon. Where the heck is the cannon?

Their arm reaches out and grabs my leg and I start to panic. I close my eyes and stomp down on their chest.

BOOM.

"Panem! Please Join me in congratulating the victor of the 3rd annual hunger games… Kenna Rockwall from district eight!" The announcer's voice comes over the speaker and my knees give out. I fall down to the ground and start crying. I don't know if they are happy tears or sad tears. They are probably a mixture of both.

For seventeen years, I had no idea who I was. I didn't know where I fit in or if I even had a place where I belonged. Sitting here now, it's all clear to me. I'm going home. I start to get dizzy and realize that my chest has lost a lot of blood.

* * *

 _If this is the moment I stand here on my own_

 _If this is my rite of passage that somehow leads me home_

 _I might be afraid_

 _But it's my turn to be brave_

 _If this is the last chance before we say goodbye_

 _At least it's the first day of the rest of my life_

 _I can't be afraid_

 _Cause it's my turn to be brave_

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **Victor of the 3rd annual hunger games.**

"Kens!" A familiar voice wakes me up from my sleep. For a minute, I don't know where I am. The fluorescent lights remind me of where I am. I am in the hospital with 32 stitches in my chest. I won the hunger games. I am not sure yet if that is something that I am going to be proud of or not.

"You did it! You made it home." Hilda rushes to my bedside and pulls the blankets down, giving her access to climb in next to me. I giggle at her. It feels so nice to be laying next to my best friend again.

"I missed you so much." Hilda says.

"I missed you, too." I say. It still really hurts to speak and I need to take it easy.

"You are going to have a busy few months. Starting as soon as you are well enough to get up and walk around. People from the Capitol, were just going over it with daddy." She beams. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister but the amount of energy she has right now is sickening.

"Speaking of daddy. Where is he?" I ask hesitantly. I am so worried that things are going to go back to exactly the way they were before. I won't go down without a fight, I just don't know if I can have that fight right now.

"He is right here…" my father's loud voice echoes in the nearly empty room. He points to the door and Hilda makes her way out. Daddy walks to my bedside and places a kiss on my forehead.

"I am so proud of you." he says. I have never heard my dad say that before and it feels weird.

"Daddy, I don't want to go back to district seven and be married off. If being in the area taught me anything, it was that life is short. I want to live and make my own choices. I want to mess up and make mistakes and I want to choose things for myself. I want to live." I say as tears well in my eyes.

"Say no more, baby girl. I wouldn't expect anything less. You are a strong and smart girl and I trust that you will make the right choices. You earned it, Kenna." my dad grabs my hand and squeezes it.

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are over." a nurse comes into the room. "She has a long week ahead of her. Let's let her rest." she smiles.

My dad winks at me and then exits the room.

I close my eyes and images that I am going to probably need therapy to get rid of flood back. This is going to be a long recovery process. I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling.

I am Kenna Rockwall, I don't have everything figured out and I might not know who I am but that is the exciting thing about this life that I get to live. Every day is going to be a new adventure and I'm going to live each and every day like it's my last. You can quote me on that.

 **Well, there ya go. My very first SYOT is almost complete. This was actually the hardest thing ever for me and I went into this with no idea what I was going to do because I loved both of these tributes so much. I didn't know what to do, So i turned to my poll and the victor is the one with the highest votes. :)**

 **Eulogies:**

 **Claudio Sterling- Killed by Kenna Rockwall: Reader, Claudio was so much fun to write and I fell in love with his character. He was funny, witty and smart but he also had a deep side and I liked that a lot. Thank you so so so much for letting me bring him to life. I appreciate it more than you know. He will definitely be missed.**

 **Victor:**

 **Congratulations, Caleb. You have a victor. Kenna was so much fun for me to write and she really just flowed off of my fingers whenever I would write her. To be honest, I loved her form so so so much because you put so much detail into it. However, I wasn't going to have her go far at first because I didn't want people thinking that I was biased. However, anytime I did a poll, she always did well and people seemed to really enjoy reading her POV's. She is strong and independent and really just a girl who is trying to find her place in this world and I can honestly relate to that so much. I thought that it wouldn't be fair for you to not get the victor position just because you were my friend when she was so well liked. Thanks for letting me write her. Congrats, bro. Congrats Kenna!**

 **There is still going to be one or two more chapters in this story, so I hope that you will enjoy reading those as well.**

 **I just posted the prologue to my new SYOT that I will be working on while Caleb is gone this summer so you should check that out and submit if you would like.**

 **Thoughts?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	29. Family Reunion

_Because these things will change_

 _Can you feel it now?_

 _These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down_

 _This revolution, the time will come_

 _For us to finally win_

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall, 17.**

 **District 8.**

 **Victor of the third annual Hunger Games.**

I think at one point in everybody's life, there comes a point of serious self-doubt and self-questioning. For me, that has been my whole entire life. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to know everything that I possibly could about myself. I would constantly be looking at photo albums and at old pictures. Maybe I thought that if I knew how everyone in my family was, that I would know how to behave too. Unfortunately, my parents were always very secretive about relatives. More so, on my mom's side. She was never up to talk about anyone on her side of the family, until now. But now, I don't know if I'm ready.

The victory tour was the most miserable thing that I have yet to encounter in my seventeen years. The way people looked at me, sullen and sunken in faces with glazed over eyes, scowling faces and expressions that could kill. I got up there, looked at my notecard and got off the stage. I didn't have a problem with speaking in most of the districts because I only killed two people. I still killed two people though and that is something that I don't know how to deal with. Seeing the look of disgust mixed with rage on the faces of Cierra's and Claudio's parents made me want to crawl in a hole and never come back out. I can never explain to them how incredibly terrible I feel, the Capitol won't give me the opportunity too. The two districts that really gave me a run for my money though, were four and five. The look on the faces of the parent's who just lost their twins made my heart shatter into a million different pieces. It was an empty look, inconsolable and pained. Nothing I could say would make that better, so I didn't even try. District five broke my spirit. Bryce's parents looked at me with love and they didn't even know me. After what I just did, the last thing I deserve to be looked at with is love. As I was speaking, his parent's reached out for one another and nodded at me with a smile before disappearing into the crowd. I couldn't breathe and my body started to give out.

My mind is going in circles around all the events that have occurred this month as I sit with my head in my hands at the kitchen table. My mom said that she had something to tell me, and that is was big news. I don't know if I can handle another surprise right now, but she was insistent.

"Hi, baby girl," my mother walks into the room and kisses me on my forehead before sitting down at the black table.

"Hi, mom," I smile at her as I sit up straight in my chair.

"I am so proud of you, Kenna. You used what I taught you in there and I couldn't be more proud of the young lady that you are becoming," she smiles.

"Please, don't say that. Your daughter killed three people. That is not something that you should be proud of." I say with tears welling in my eyes.

"Kenna, you only had two kills. Are you feeling okay?" She raises from the chair and places her cold, white hand with her red finger nails on my forehead. My eyes get wide as I realize what I just said. I told Hilda that I would never tell a soul, my mother included and my absent-mindedness almost just gave that away. I thought that winning the hunger games, would help me figure out who I was, but so far, it has just made me question it even more.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I guess things from inside the arena are still a little foggy," I lie.

"Okay, sweetie. Anyways, I know that you have always been curious about my side of the family. I have a surprise for you today. You have proved to be a very mature young woman, so I think that it's time that you met a few people." she says, standing up from the chair.

A look of confusion passes over my face and she just nods me towards the door. I have no idea what to expect, all I can hope for is that it helps me understand who Kenna Rockwall is, just a little bit more.

* * *

 _To you, everything's funny_

 _You got nothing to regret_

 _I'd give all I have honey_

 _If you could stay like that_

 _Oh darlingdon't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up_

* * *

 **Kadence Marquet, 7.**

 **District 2 resident.**

Papa says that I am meeting someone special today. He says that as soon as she walks in the room, that I will know who she is. He says that I have seen her before. I've met a lot of people, but nobody that I think is very special.

"You look very pretty, pumpkin," Papa says picking me up and twirling me through the air. My pink dress billows and my pink bow that was perfectly nestled into my blonde curls,flies across the room.

"Papa, you messed up my hair, that took me a million years!" I pout. He laughs at me and calls me cute.

"Why do we have to meet more people, people suck," my brother Colby says as he stuffs a peanut butter sandwich in his mouth, leaving traces of peanut butter all around his lips.

"New people are good people, besides. I haven't even met the young lady myself, and I really would like to. I am very proud of her." Papa says.

Papa is only supposed to be proud of me. I am his little cupcake, and I want it to stay that way. I crinkle my eyebrows and cross my arms across my chest.

The doorbell rings and papa's face lights up.

"Sit on the couch, I will go let them in," papa says, smoothing his shirt.

He is gone for what seems like forever. I hear the voices of two females enter the house. When they enter the room, papa is holding hands with an older woman who is very pretty. They are both crying and holding onto each other. Who is this woman and why are her hands all over my papa. I feel angry. When they move out the way, she walks in. I've seen her on TV, but she is even more beautiful in person. Her long brown hair is curled and tucked behind her ears. She is wearing a black dress with bright red heels and her green eyes are so bright. I want to look just like her when I'm a grown-up.

"Kadence, Colby, I would like you to meet your cousin, Kenna." papa says.

 **Hey, lovelies. :)**

 **I know this chapter is short, but I just wanted to get something out there. The last chapter will be up before the week ends and it's going to be a long one because it is going to tie everything together and answer a lot of questions. I love Kenna so much, y'all. This last chapter is going to be so much fun but it won't be the last you see of Kenna. :)**

 **GUYS. Caleb and I are writing a collab on his account and we are both super excited for it. We are still accepting tributes, but we would like to get them in pretty quickly so that we can select them and get the blog up. If you are interested in submitting, you totally should. It's going to be such a fun thing to write and not to be weird or anything, but it's gonna rock. :P haha Go, go go!**

 **Hope y'all enjoyed this short chapter.**

 **Let me know your thoughts?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna.**


	30. The Power Within

_**Welcome to the last chapter of my first SYOT. This is crazy to me, because honestly I didn't think I was going to be able to sit down and finish an entire story. It turned into something that I loved doing though, and here we are.**_

 _ **This chapter is a lot of backstory mixed with a lot of current story, lol. I just wanted everyone to understand our victor a little bit better, so here we go.**_

* * *

 _Don't know how long I've been gone,_

 _All I know is it's been too long_

* * *

 **Papa Marquet, 67.**

 **District 2 resident.**

She looks just like her mother did when she was her age. Bright green eyes, long brown hair and the same facial structure. She smiles and it looks exactly like how Mila's used to look, when she still smiled. I didn't know it was possible to be so proud of someone who you've never even met before, but here we are in my living room, I am looking at my grand-daughter for the first time and I've never been more proud of someone. She did it. She made it home. Kenna doesn't know that I've seen her before, but I have. I'm ready to explain everything.

I never thought that I would see Mila ever again, let alone meet her children. I was convinced that I was going to be a crippled and withering old man who never got the chance to tell his family how sorry he was. I had accepted that and I was just going to move on with my life, until I saw the reapings for district 8. I had to clean my glasses because surely that couldn't be my own daughters baby going into the hunger games. The escort read the last name and I've never felt anything like that before. My heart sank.

I have done a lot of things that I am not proud of this life time, too many to count, but if there is one thing that has alway been certain, it's how much I loved my family. Everything that I did, and went through, I did for them. It may not have seemed like it at the time, but it was all for them.

Before the Dark days, My life was the farthest thing from an average life. I got caught up in things that were almost impossible to get out of. I was never home. I left Rosanna home alone with Mila and her sister and went off doing unspeakable things with miserable people. Before I knew it, I was the leader of a mafia. I never expected to be put in this position, but it was good money and I was on a power trip. I loved the fact that people feared me, loved the fact that people heard our name and automatically respected it. I was in over my head, I just didn't know it yet.

At the time, Mila was only seventeen as well, she was bright and full of life. She was a very happy girl who thought of life as an exciting experience. That all changed, along with my wife Rosanna's attitude. Our family started becoming the target of direct hits. People wanted me dead, if that meant killing my family in the process, so be it. The hits were endless, seemingly every single night there was gun shots, or our beautiful victorian home being set ablaze. I see fire, as my mind drifts back to that horrendous night.

"Goodnight, my love," Rosanna kissed me on the cheek before excusing herself from the dinner table.

"Ew! Get a room, Mila replied. I chuckled at her innocence.

"You need to go to sleep too, we have a big day tomorrow, Mila," I tell her. She rises from the white rustic chair, pushes it in towards the table and walks over to me, planting a kiss on my other cheek.

"Goodnight, daddy," she smiled.

"Good work today," I winked as she walked away.

I sat at the table for hours on end thinking about how Mila was never a fan of the Mafia life, but she was scared. Every time there was a hit on our house or even her life, she would end up sleeping on our floor. I watched my daughter that was once so happy and bubbly, go from a light in life, to a scared mess. She turned to poisons. She knew that it was the easiest way. She helped me take out a lot of people whether it be from poisoned food at "business dinners" or from poisoned money in business deals. She didn't want to do it, but she felt like she had to in order to stay alive. It really took a toll on her. I got up from the table and went to my room upstairs, and locked the door. Around 3:45 in the morning, I woke with sweat on my brow. The house was unusually warm. It took me a few minutes to fully wake up, but when I did, I noticed the billowing smoke coming in from under the door. We had been hit with out most vicious attack yet. I ran through the house, coughing and sweating trying to get everyone out in time. Mila and her sister were my first priority. I didn't mean to forget about Rosana, she was the love of my life. I would have done anything for her, I was just so worried about our daughters. By the time that I got them out of the house, it was too late to go back in, the whole side of the house had collapsed into a mess of debris, enclosing my precious wife in there with it.

Mila never forgave me. She blamed the death of her mother on me and my involvement with the mafia, and she wasn't wrong.

"I just don't see how you could let this happen!" she screamed as she tossed what was left of her belongings into a suitcase. "You are the worst man that I have ever met," she cried.

"Mila, please don't go. I miss her too, but we need to stick together now. You know how much I love you," I pleaded. I was about to lose everything.

"You killed my mother, I never want to see you again, you sad excuse for a man," she spit in my direction with tears rolling down her face.

"You don't mean that," I said calmly.

"Mark my words, you will never see me again. I want nothing to do with you." she pushed past me and left me and her sister standing there in the dust.

I never saw or heard from Mila again. I had no idea what had become of her. A lot happened since then. My other daughter was killed in the dark days and because no one knew how to find Mila, custody of her children went to me, a do-over if you will.

When I got the call that Mila was wanting to get in touch, for her daughter's sake, I was dumbfounded. I went all these years thinking that my family was lost forever and that I would never get the chance to make things right, but standing here in my living room with these two women, makes me feel like my family is one step closer to being complete.

* * *

 _I found mayonnaise bottles and poked holes on top_

 _To capture Tinker Bell_

 _But they were just fireflies to the untrained eye_

 _But I could always tell_

 _I believe in fairy tales_

* * *

 **Kadence Marquet, 7**

 **District 2 resident**

* * *

"You have beautiful hair," I say as I run my favorite plastic pink brush through Kenna's hair. We are best friends now, she told me so.

"Thank you, Kadence." she says making a weird face but she is smiling.

"Was it scary, being in the hungry games?" I ask her. I feel like crying when I talk about it but Colby will call me a baby and make fun of me, so I decide to be a big girl and keep the tears in my head. I walk around her, leaving my plastic brush, tangled in her hair and sit on her lap.

"It was very scary." a pained look comes across her face and she starts getting all weird and fidgety. Colby runs around in circles with his sword.

"You killed that man with a sword, just like mine. It was _Awesome._ " Colby says pretending to kill all of his teddy bears, that I have so carefully placed band-aids on.

"Please, don't say that. You don't want to be anything like me," she says. She looks sad, almost like she is about to cry too.

"I want to be like you, you are nice and pretty and you got to kiss a cute boy," I put my hands over my face and giggle. Kenna's face turns red and she starts to laugh but then she just gets sad again. "You thought that man was cute, didn't you?" I ask her. I didn't mean to make her upset, I just want to talk to her. It's kind of like having a big sister and not being stuck with a dumb boy all the time.

"He was cute, I just miss him." She puts on a smile that doesn't look so real to me and straightens my bow. Colby shoves his plastic sword into the back of her neck and then falls to the ground laughing.

"Have you lost your ever-loving mind, ya psycho?!" Kenna turns around abruptly and rubs the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry.." Colby says dropping his sword and sitting down cross-legged on the floor.

"It's okay, swords are scary though Colby, they aren't something that you should be so excited about using. You need to be really careful, with all weapons at that." Kenna says with the same nice smile from a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, Colby! Leave her alone! She just got done at the hungry games a few weeks ago and papa says she is going to have server issues." I tell him, getting angry at the fact that he is being mean to my new friend.

"He said severe issues, not server issues, you dumb dumb," Colby sticks his tongue out at me and crosses his arms across his chest. Kenna laughs and lifts me off of her lap. She sets me down and gently pats me on the head before making her way over to the bedroom door. She moves her hair and puts her ear against the door.

"Papa says that they are having grown up talk, but you are a grown up, so you can probably go out there," I say walking over to her and holding on to the end of her dress.

"I wish that I wasn't so grown up sometimes." She says looking down at me.

"Why not? Being a grown up means that you can go to sleep whenever you want and eat seven cookies for breakfast. Count me in," I say and Kenna throws her head back laughing before kneeling down so that she is my height.

"Eating seven cookies is about the only good thing about being a grown up that I have found so far. Being a grown up means making a lot of choices and they aren't always fun ones. I just wish that I could run away sometimes and become a princess, or a mermaid in a far away land." she says straightening my dress and smiling at me.

"Oh! Please take me with you, please! I would be the best princess ever! That's just like Peter Pan!" I say feeling myself getting more and more excited.

"I hope you stay that way forever," Kenna smiles at me. I'm not sure what she means by this but maybe once I am a grown up too, I will.

My pink bedroom door flies open and Kenna falls forward since her ear was pressed against the door so intently. Her mom gives her a look but then they both start laughing.

"Thank you for entertaining them, while we caught up. We would like for you to join us now, we have a lot to talk about." her mommy says.

"Bye, Kenna! You'll come back and play when you're done being a grown up, right?" I ask her, hopefully.

"You bet, Kadence," Kenna smiles and exits the room.

"Woah, she is so cool," Colby says and all I can do is nod my head in agreement, sending blonde curls bouncing up and down.

* * *

 _You start to sense_

 _That slowly you're becoming someone else_

 _And then you find yourself_

* * *

 **Kenna Rockwall,17.**

 **Victor of the 3rd annual hunger games.**

How do you explain to two innocent seven-year-olds the horrors that you encountered in what they think is just a television show? How do you express the way that you are feeling to them without completely shattering their innocence? I had to put on a strong face for them, they see me as the Kenna Rockwall that brought honor and respect back to district eight with her, they see me as the Kenna Rockwall that has it all together, the girl who did what she had to do in order to survive and the girl that knows exactly who she is and what she wants. That is how everyone in Panem sees me now, but that's not the real me.

The real Kenna Rockwall can't sleep without a nightlight on, or with the door closed. She can't sleep for longer than 3 hours without waking up screaming and crying. She can't close her eyes without seeing the face of her dying friend lying on the floor of a gingerbread house. She has to wake up every morning and put on a smile that she doesn't feel like she deserves. Nobody understands what being in that arena does to you. It changes things, it changes you. This is only the third time that this has ever happened and I wish that it would just stop here, they are messing with fire with this one and even when you win, you lose.

Not only am I haunted every single day and night by blood that I shed in the arena, but I also have to deal with the fact that I have shed blood outside of the arena as well. Killing Hilda's husband is in the back of my mind every single day, it has been since the day that he passed. Of course, I feel bad about killing him, he was still a human being, but he picked the wrong woman to beat on. There was no way in hell that I could sit around and watch someone hurt my sister repeatedly without making them suffer consequences. You mess with me, fine, but you mess with someone that I love, you are going down. Seeing my sister black and blue was the last straw, he needed to go. Ever since that day, I have tried to find comfort in the logic that if we hadn't done what we had done, my sister Hilda might not be here today and that usually brings me temporary peace. However, I think that experience helped me in the arena and I am thankful for that.

"Kenna, are you okay?" my mother asks me placing her hand on my shoulder. I am sat in a spacious living room furnished with modern black couches and chairs and a lot of white accents, with a man who I am told is my grandfather. I didn't even know I had a living grandfather.

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Just thinking." I lie and smile.

"Kenna, I have noticed that since you have been home, you haven't been yourself. You are normally a very happy girl. Full of life, adventure, love and of course terrible puns," my mom teases. "You are the shell of the Kenna that you were when you were younger and it scares me because I was exactly where you are once." my mom looks at her dad and her bottom lip starts to quiver, but she somehow manages to keep it together. "When you were in the hospital, you kept saying that you didn't know who you were and that it was bothering you, I don't want that to be your life, Kenna." My mom reaches out and strokes my head.

"I have a story for you.." the man who I guess is my grandfather starts.

My mother and my grandfather tell me their entire history. My family was part of the mafia and my grandpa was apparently some huge bad ass back in the day. They tell me about how I had an aunt and a grandmother, but they are no longer around. The man tells me that my mom was exactly like me, she didn't want a life that was chosen for me so she went out and got married. They talk for what seems like hours and hours on end, but I don't mind. With every ounce of new information that is being drilled into my brain, I feel like my identity is slowly piecing itself back together.

"Family is important, Kenna. Especially in times of self-questioning," my grandfather smiles.

For the first time in my life, I know where I came from. It doesn't sound like it was the most positive upbringing, but where there was once holes, there is new information. This year has been filled with so many things, that my brain can barely keep up.

"Mila, if you would be so kind as to give me a few minutes with my granddaughter, it would be greatly appreciated," my grandpa practically whispers to my mom. She looks hesitant but I nod at her and she smiles and exits the room, heading toward the kid's rooms to get to know her niece and nephew a little bit better.

"Kenna, I just want to start of by saying that you are the most beautiful girl, you remind me of my wife." tears well up in his eyes as he looks at me. From the stories that I have heard today, he loved her a lot. I smile at him and reach across the table to grab his hand.

"I need to tell you something serious, Kenna." his eyes grow cold and he walks over to look out the window.

"You are scaring me, is everything okay?" I ask him.

"I know what you did to that man." my grandfather says.

My heart stops and my insides freeze. I suddenly feel like I am going to be sick and my skin gets clammy. I can't help but wonder if this was just some ploy to get me here and admit what I did.

"Don't worry, Kenna. I heard you and your sister talking out in the rain the night you did it. I heard everything. I know why you did what you did and I just want you to know that everything is going to be okay." he smiles.

Tears fall from my eyes as memories from that night come flooding back.

"What did we just do?!" I scream at Hilda. The rain was coming down hard, and we were soaked. Thunder and lightning cracked across the sky.

"This is not good! This was all your idea!" Hilda says as tears fall from her eyes and mix with raindrops.

"I was just trying to help you, I didn't want you to die!" I shouted over the loud hum of the rain.

There was a movement in the bushes and me and Hilda turned around fast. We saw someone running away.

"Shit! What do we do?" I asked her.

"Just get inside, everything is going to be fine," Hilda said, more to herself than to me. We rushed inside the house, back to the chaos of Hilda finding her husband dead in her bed. The image of the hooded man running away haunted my dreams for as long as I can remember.

"That was you?" I ask him, surprised.

"I had finally found out where your family was put after the dark days and I fought to make my way to district eight to get in contact with your mother." He starts. "I was finally going to go ring the doorbell that night when I heard you and your sister talking," he says crossing his arms.

"I wasn't alone in the bushes, Kenna. There was another man out there and he was getting all the information that he finally needed to get his revenge on your mother." He says. "When you two walked inside, I chased after him and asked what he was after. He wanted to ruin your mom's life for something that she did when she was younger and that was his perfect opportunity. He was going to expose you and I couldn't let that happen… So I took him out. I let my family down once, and I wasn't going to do it again." he says looking out the window.

"You killed someone?!" I asked him backing away. I have encountered more death in my life than any seventeen year old should ever have to. My grandpa saved my life, and he didn't even know me.

"Are you going to tell my mom?" I ask him, looking away.

"I was hoping that this could be our little secret," he says opening his arms to me. I run towards the man that I have just met and wrap him in an embrace. Someone else knows and it feels so amazing.

"I think you have had enough, for one day. Why don't you go play with the little ones." He says with a loving smile.

"I couldn't agree more, all I want to do is lay in my bed and eat french fries. This month has been exhausting." I say heading towards the bedroom.

I pass my mom in the hallway and she looks happier than I have seen her in years.

When I get back to the room, Kadence is playing with dolls.

"Kenna! You're back just in time for the tea party." Kadence runs over to me with a selection of dolls in her hands. "Who do you want to be?" she smiles up at me, innocently.

"Who do you want to be?"

That question has echoed in my head all year long. Somehow, though, now it sounds different. It sounds like an exciting question, not a dreadful one. Sure, I have done unspeakable things in my short life, but that doesn't define who I am. I am only a seventeen-year-old girl and for the first time in my life, I am okay with not knowing who I want to be. That is the exciting part of life. Each day is a gift, and we should live it like one. Each day is a new opportunity to decide who we want to be on that day. Somedays, I can promise you that I won't like who I am, and some days I will be so in love with life that it will make people sick. The most important thing, though, is that I am choosing who I want to be.

"I don't know who I want to be. And that's okay." I say smiling. Kadence looks up at me smiling but confused.

"You know, Papa says you can be anyone that you want to be, you just need to trust the power within."

She smiles and I finally realize that this crazy life I am living is mine and only mine.

* * *

 **Oh hey.**

 **So there you go. My first story is done and it feels so weird. So, I know that this ending was probably a little bit different. I wanted it to be. I have such big plans for Kenna in a future story so I wanted people to get to know her a little bit better. I had no idea how I was going to end this story when I originally picking a victor. I knew that no matter what, that I wanted them to be related to the original people and this is what I came up with and it just worked so perfectly.**

 **I realize y'all probably still have questions, but patience. Kenna will be around for a long time to come.**

 **I wanted to take a minute to thank you so much to everyone who read this story and reviewed. Your support means everything to me and it blows my mind that this story almost has 200 reviews. I love you guys.**

 **ALSO, since this story is now officially done, I feel like it is an appropriate time for some self-promotion, lolol.**

 **I am writing another SYOT and I need like 6 submissions to have them all in, I would love for you to submit. Everything is on my profile.**

 **Also, Caleb and I are writing a collab if you didn't know. It's going to be so much fun and I am more excited for that than I am for my own story. :) It's on his profile, so you should definitely go check that out and submit. :) You have until July tenth.**

 **Speaking of Caleb, thank you so much for Kenna. I love her and I hope you liked this chapter.**

 **Sorry for the longest authors note ever lol.**

 **Thoughts?**

 **XOXO**

 **Jenna**


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